Denmark Protests Erupt Over Trump’s Plans for Greenland
Copenhagen: Thousands of protesters gathered across Denmark on Saturday to show solidarity with Greenland amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to annex the Arctic island, demanding that the United States respect Greenlanders’ right to self-determination.
Trump has described Greenland as strategically vital to U.S. security due to its location and mineral resources and has not ruled out the use of force to acquire it. In response, European nations sent military personnel to the island this week at Denmark’s request.
Demonstrators in Copenhagen’s City Hall Square chanted slogans such as “Greenland is not for sale” and “Hands off Greenland”, waving Greenland’s red and white “Erfalasorput” flag, before marching toward the U.S. embassy.
Julie Rademacher, chair of Uagut, an organisation for Greenlanders in Denmark, said, “I am very grateful for the huge support we as Greenlanders receive … we are also sending a message to the world that you all must wake up. Greenland and the Greenlanders have involuntarily become the front in the fight for democracy and human rights.”
Protests were reported in other locations across Denmark and are scheduled for Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, later on Saturday. Trump’s statements regarding the island have sparked an unprecedented diplomatic crisis between the United States and Denmark, both founding members of NATO, and have been widely condemned across Europe.
Greenland, home to 57,000 people, has significant autonomy since 1979 but remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark, which controls its defence, foreign policy, and finances much of its administration. While all five political parties in Greenland’s parliament support eventual independence, they recently stated they would rather remain part of Denmark than join the United States.
The protests in Denmark were organised by Greenlandic groups in cooperation with the NGO ActionAid Denmark. Camilla Siezing, chair of Inuit, the Joint Association of Greenlandic Local Associations in Denmark, said, “We demand respect for the Danish Realm and for Greenland’s right to self-determination.”
According to Danish authorities, around 17,000 Greenlanders live in Denmark. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that only 17 percent of Americans support Trump’s efforts to acquire Greenland, with majorities of both Democrats and Republicans opposing the use of military force. Trump dismissed the poll as “fake.”
