On 13 March, in a meeting with NATO Secretary-General
Mark Rutte, Trump once again reiterated his desire to annex
and control Greenland, citing its importance for
international security.
In response, Greenland’s
incoming leader Jens Frederik Nielsen has stated clearly
that Greenlanders do not wish to be Americans or Danes but
to be Greenlanders, seeking independence in the future so
they can build their country by themselves. Likewise,
Greenland’s outgoing leader Mute Bourup Egede, still interim
head of government, openly denounced Trump’s rhetoric as the
continued disrespect of a nation that is unacceptable and
has to stop. Enough is enough, he said, in what has been the
firmest rejection of Trump’s adventurism since the idea was
first mooted in 2019 and then repeated in 2024. What started
off as a mild-mannered put down to a bold request by its
closest ally, so outrageous as to be slightly amusing, has
now given way to a unified and unequivocal response borne
out of frustration and an acute sense of being wronged and
disrespected.
On Friday, 14 March, at Egede’s behest,
the chairmen of the five parties elected to the Greenlandic
Parliament (Inatsisarsut) – Jens Frederik Nielsen of
Demokraatit, Pele Broberg of Naleraq, Mute Bourup Egede of
Inuit Ataqatigiit, Vivian Motzfeldt of Siumut and Aqqalu
Jeremiassen of Atassut – met and released a joint
statement:
“We – all party chairmen – cannot accept
the repeated statements about annexation and control of
Greenland. As party chairmen, we find this behavior
unacceptable towards friends and allies in a defense
alliance. We, as the leaders of all parties in Inatsisartut
in Greenland, must emphasise that Greenland continues the
work for Greenland, which is already underway through
diplomatic channels in accordance with international laws
and regulations. We all stand behind this effort and
strongly oppose attempts to create discord. Greenland is one
country, which everyone will stand
behind.”
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Despite any political differences
between the five leaders on other issues, one thing is as
clear as daylight: they are all very much united in their
firm rejection of any US offer. This statement is
significant in the context of the wave of misunderstanding
and disinformation engulfing the US on the subject, with
supporters of Trump intentionally and even critics of Trump
unwittingly portraying some parties as more sympathetic to
Trump’s ambitions than the others to make the case that the
idea of Greenland joining the US enjoys more local support
in Greenland than it actually does. The joint statement
makes clear that all five parties find the proposition
unacceptable and disrespectful.
Given
what seems to be the tactic of the Trump camp to sow tares
and play up divisions, and grossly misrepresent the interest
of a motley few enamoured by Trump as the collective
aspiration of the many who are clearly not, it is entirely
understandable that the outgoing leader should wish to
convene the leaders of all parties in Greenland to come up
with a joint statement firmly rebuking such disrespect. If
the result of the election reveals anything, it is that
while many Greenlanders care for the questions of political
independence from Denmark and the future relationship with
the US, they care equally if not more about local issues
that concern their everyday lives, such as healthcare,
education, childcare, and more. These are issues where the
US lags far, far behind than the Nordic states, so apart
from Greenland not being on sale, the proposal to join the
US is simply not an attractive one.
This is not to say
that the US does not have legitimate security interests in
Greenland. He is absolutely right to recognise the immense
strategic importance of Greenland, as even NATO
Secretary-General Mark Rutte acknowledged. It is a pity that
in a field so ripe with opportunity though, he should speak
of acquisition and annexation (entirely unhelpful and
unwelcome) instead of simply cultivating goodwill towards
the US and encouraging American investment (actually helpful
and welcome). At a time when the US really needs Greenland
for all of the many security and resource reasons that Trump
correctly identifies, Trump is doing more to hurt and
undermine the US-Greenland relationship than any of his
predecessors, a strategy that is proving entirely
counter-productive and driving a wedge between the two
allies.”
Comments by Dr Dwayne Ryan Menezes,
Founder and Managing Director, Polar Research and Policy
Initiative
(PRPI)
