Some Greenlanders express outrage over Trump’s threats. But not all are concerned
Trump administration says utilizing military is ‘always an option’ to acquire territory
Tillie Martinussen, a former member of Greenland’s parliament, says U.S. President Donald Trump is treating her fellow citizens like “sex workers” or a “common prostitute” with his threats to acquire the island.
And it’s very insulting, she said, to suggest to Greenlanders that they are “invadable.”
“This is outrageous and it’s insane and it is scary for some, but I think mostly we just get angry,” Martinussen told CBC News.
She is just one Greenlander expressing anger and frustration over Trump’s recent musings that the United States needs to acquire the strategic Arctic island that is a self-governing territory of Denmark.
However, not all from the island are reacting with outrage, with some downplaying the comments made by the Trump administration about the territory’s fate.
Diplomacy is ‘first option’
Since his first term in office, Trump has floated the idea of acquiring Greenland, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. But after this past weekend’s U.S. military action in Venezuela, he’s renewed calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland, citing strategic reasons.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Tuesday that Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the U.S., adding that “utilizing the U.S. military is always an option.”
On Wednesday, however, Leavitt told reporters at a White House press briefing that the president’s “first option always has been diplomacy.”
Martinussen rejected the notion that talk about taking Greenland is about American security, since, she said, the U.S. “can do almost anything they want security wise, as long as we are negotiating about it.”
The U.S. Department of Defence operates the remote Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland as part of a 1951 agreement between Denmark and the United States. It supports missile warning, missile defence and space surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO.
“I think [Trump] should just come out outright and say he wants … the oil, he wants the rare earth minerals,” Martinussen said.
‘We don’t want to be Americans’
Avaaraq Olsen, the mayor of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, told CBC News that the territory held one of its largest demonstrations back in the spring, when people came out to strongly reject any U.S. plans for a takeover.
“And that’s still the state of the Greenlanders. We think it’s very disrespectful and offensive that we are brought into this again because we have already said our opinion,” she said.
“We feel like we are not treated as our own people living in our own country. We are treated like an item to buy, and we really want to get away from that.”
Sara Olsvig, chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council in Nuuk, said a lot of people on the island are rejecting the idea of being taken over by anyone.
She said Greenlanders have already been through colonization and know what it’s like to be affected negatively by the interests of others and more powerful nations.
“It’s been repeated time and time again that we don’t want to be Danes,” she said. “We don’t want to be Americans. We are Kalaallit. We are Greenlanders.”
Greenland relies on U.S. for security
Greenland MP Pele Broberg, who’s the leader of the opposition pro-independence party Naleraq, didn’t express concern about Trump’s comments. He told CBC’s Power & Politics that people are too eager to put words in Trump’s mouth and interpret what he’s saying instead of listening to him.
“That’s where you see this fear mongering, this panic of what is he going to do.”
Broberg said what he’s hearing from the Trump administration is that it actually wants to empower the Greenlandic people by offering, for example, a free association forum that would mean independence from Denmark.
“That doesn’t mean we should belong to the U.S., but again, it’s a big difference between what the press is focusing on and what we are hearing. So let’s dial down the rhetoric.”
Broberg said everybody seems keen on talking about annexation by the U.S. as a threat while completely ignoring that Greenland has been annexed by Denmark.
“I keep telling everybody that we need to have an adult conversation with them. [Trump] wants to do a deal. We want independence. They want security. Well, is there anything to gain from both of us? Yeah, probably, but we won’t find out until we have a conversation with them. And that can’t be through the press nor Facebook.”
Juno Berthelsen, who is also a member of Greenland’s opposition party, told CBC’s Ottawa Morning that all of the talk about military intervention is completely unrealistic.
Berthelsen said Greenland has been an ally of the U.S. for more than 80 years, with U.S. military bases stationed there. He said Greenlanders don’t want the Americans to leave because they rely on the U.S. for securing the territory and having a defence against Russia and China.
“So to me, this is all posturing, and everyone knows that Trump is not a big fan of Europe and European powers,” he said. “I see no reason to worry at all.”
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Carney meets with Danish PM as U.S. ramps up talk of taking over Greenland, The Canadian Press
Finland: Only Greenland and Denmark can decide on their own future says Finnish President, Yle News
Greenland: Greenland lawmaker urges planning for worst-case scenarios as Trump ups rhetoric, , Eye on the Arctic
Iceland: NATO chief to Arctic Allies: “We’re all frontline states now,” as Iceland’s role grows, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: “We want to be Europe’s most integrated region in terms of defence”, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Russian navy chief accuses NATO of stepping up spying activities in the Arctic, TASS reports, Reuters
Sweden: Sweden critical of Trump’s latest push for Greenland, Radio Sweden
United States:Rubio says he plans to meet Danish officials next week to talk about US interest in Greenland, The Canadian Press
