Trump’s neocolonial reach extends to Greenland

Isidoros Karderinis

US President Donald Trump’s attempt to grab Greenland constitutes a neocolonial effort by a global ‘sheriff’ who clearly does not respect the island’s national sovereignty and fundamental human rights.

Demonstrations took place in the capital Nuuk – the largest demonstrations in Greenland’s history – and Copenhagen, with slogans such as “Greenland is not for sale” and “Greenland belongs to Greenlanders”, highlighting the will for self-determination.

Meanwhile, polls show that about 85% of the people of Greenland reject the prospect of joining the US.

Greenland’s 34-year-old Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, moreover, has described the pressure as “disrespectful” and has called for an end to threats and rhetoric about annexation “among friends”.

Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, speaking in Parliament on 21 January, said: “This is a dark chapter we are in” and clarified that “Denmark cannot negotiate sovereignty, identity, borders and democracy”.

The subsequent retreat of US President Donald Trump on plans to use military force to occupy Greenland and the cancellation of tariffs on eight European Nato member states that opposed his plans to acquire the island is remarkable.

Yet, his aggressive, conquering disposition has not diminished at all.

Meanwhile, the rift in the Euro-Atlantic axis has become deep, testing the cohesion of the Western world.

Why Greenland matters

But let’s see what Greenland’s data is and why it is such an important island.

Greenland is the largest island on our planet with an area of 2,166,086 sq km. (Australia, although larger in area, is considered a continent and not an island.) It is currently an autonomous island, part of the Kingdom of Denmark, which has been a Nato member and US ally since 1949.

Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953. Since that year, it has been a county of Denmark. It has been self-governing since 1979, and in 2009 it was granted even greater autonomy, with the right to exploit its natural resources – a move that many saw as paving the way for eventual full independence.

The head of state is King Frederick X of Denmark, who is represented by a high commissioner. The head of government is the prime minister, who is elected by Parliament. The cabinet is also elected by Parliament, known in Danish as Landstinget, which is the legislative assembly for the autonomous territory.

The 31 members of Parliament are elected by a system of simple proportionality in multi-member constituencies by the people and their term of office lasts four years.

Anyone aged 18 or over has the right to vote in elections.

The majority of the population, which amounts to about 56,000, are Inuit, who came into contact with the first European settlers (of Danish and Norwegian origin) and speak Greenlandic and Danish.

This Arctic island is geographically located in North America. But culturally, demographically and politically, Greenland is an island linked to Europe.

To the southeast of Greenland are the Atlantic Ocean and Iceland; to the east, the Greenland Sea, to the north, the Arctic Ocean; and to the west, Baffin Bay and Canada.

Most of the island, about 80% of Greenland’s surface, which corresponds to 1,700,000 sq km, is covered by a huge ice sheet.

Only the southwestern and southeastern coastal zones, which correspond to the remaining 20%, are not covered by ice. It is the only ice-free and inhabited area, much of it bare, with many rocks, fjords and islets.

For two months every summer. it experiences the “Midnight Sun” with continuous light, while in winter it experiences the “Polar Night” with continuous darkness.

Greenland does not have a developed road network connecting towns and villages. Transport is mainly by sea and air, with airports and heliports throughout the country. On land, snowmobiles and sledges are used.

The economy of the island, whose currency is the Danish krone and whose gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated at about $3.3bn, is based on fishing (90% of exports) and fish processing, a major industrial activity.

A few residents also engage in limited farming on the southwestern coast, where cattle, sheep and poultry are raised.

Greenland is therefore not rich in the conventional sense, given that its resources are largely underutilised and its economy small. To ‘survive’, it receives an annual subsidy of about €550m from Denmark – about €9,000 per inhabitant.

This is also why many on the island are hesitant to demand immediate independence from Denmark, which has displayed colonial behaviour in the past.

Strategic resources

Greenland also has deposits of gold, uranium and coal. According to recent research, there are also deposits of oil and natural gas.

Its territory also contains large deposits of rare earths. According to reliable data, 25 of the 34 minerals that the European Commission has classified as “critical raw materials” are found on the island.

The US, however, does not see Greenland simply as a repository of raw materials, but as an island with strategic value that ensures access, surveillance and defence over the North Atlantic and Arctic corridors.

Militarily, the US already maintains the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, near the town of Qaanaaq – one of the northernmost towns in the world.

The base hosts early warning radars, integrated into the US missile defence network, and operates as an advanced part of the Norad system to detect ballistic missile launches crossing the Arctic.

Denmark, for its part, is constantly strengthening its presence in the region with new warships, drones and satellite infrastructure.

The only ones competent to decide the fate and future of the island are the inhabitants of Greenland.

Our world must not be allow the principles of international law to be blatantly violated and turned into tatters, to be replaced by the law of the jungle, that is, the right of the strong.

Rational people everywhere who believe in democracy cannot help but shout loudly: “Trump, hands off Greenland!”

Isidoros Karderinis is a journalist and foreign press correspondent accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Greece. He is a regular member of the Greek Foreign Press Correspondents’ Association, novelist, poet and lyricist.

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