Greenlanders express fear and outrage as Trump eyes territory

Gabriela Pomeroy,

Alicia CurryAnd

Adrienne Murray,in Copenhagen

“The people of Greenland do not want to become American,” Mia Chemnitz told the BBC. “We are not for sale.”

The 32-year-old business owner from the Greenlandic capital of Nuuk reflects the feelings of many people who spoke to the BBC about what they thought of the Trump administration’s recent rhetoric.

The White House said it was “actively” discussing an offer to buy the territory that has belonged to Denmark for centuries. US President Donald Trump and his officials had previously suggested they were prepared to take it by force if necessary.

This situation has sparked nervousness and opprobrium among Greenlanders, both on the world’s largest island and elsewhere.

That nervousness has only grown since the United States took Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from his Caracas residence to New York on drug trafficking and narcoterrorism charges in an unprecedented military move.

Almost immediately afterward, the wife of a senior White House official indicated that Greenland would be next.

“That’s when it stopped feeling abstract,” says Tupaarnaq Kopeck, 40, who moved to Canada — another country Trump has threatened to annex — for family and work.

“For the first time, I contacted my sister in Greenland and told her that if the unthinkable came true, they would have a place to stay with us.”

Aaja Chemnitz, one of two members of the Danish Parliament representing Greenland, said the Trump administration’s comments posed “a clear threat” that dismayed her.

“It’s completely disrespectful of the United States to not rule out annexation of our country and annex another NATO ally,” she said.

Greenland is the least populated territory in the world. With much of the Arctic island covered in ice, most of the population lives in Nuuk and the surrounding southwest coast.

But it is of strategic importance to the United States – which is why it has had a military presence there since World War II.

Greenland’s location between North America and the Arctic makes it well-positioned to have early warning systems for missile attacks.

More recently, there has also been increased interest in Greenland’s natural resources, including rare earth minerals, which are becoming easier to access as ice melts due to climate change.

“It’s not fun being 56,000 people and receiving these threats – if you can call them that – from a giant like the United States,” says Masaana Egede, editor-in-chief of the Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq.

“The citizens of Greenland are nervous about this, because it’s not something we take lightly.”

Experts generally agree that a military takeover of Greenland would be an easy undertaking for the United States – but that the geopolitical fallout would effectively end the NATO alliance.

After the issue of Greenland ownership was raised again by the White House, six European allies issued a statement saying that Greenland’s future should be decided by its people – for which Mia says she is grateful.

But she fears it won’t matter in the United States “if it’s not accompanied by consequences and action.”

“As a Greenlander, I can’t help but wonder: what are we worth to these allies? How far are they willing to go to protect us?”

Tupaarnaq says: “Respect is about more than alliances on paper. When powerful nations talk about you instead of talking about you, that respect disappears very quickly. »

The Trump administration has stressed that its intention is to purchase Greenland from Denmark – although Copenhagen has reaffirmed that the territory is not for sale – while retaining military intervention as an option.

Aaja believes that annexation by force is unlikely. Instead, “what we’re going to see is that they will put pressure on us to make sure that they take control of Greenland over time.”

Polls consistently show that Greenlanders generally favor eventual independence from Denmark but oppose membership in the United States. The territory is largely autonomous, with control of foreign affairs and defense retained by Copenhagen.

Perhaps that’s why Aleqatsiaq Peary, a 42-year-old Inuit hunter living in the isolated northern town of Qaanaaq, seemed unfazed by the prospect of American property.

“It would be passing from one master to another, from one occupant to another,” he explains. “We are a colony under Denmark. We are already losing a lot being under the Danish government.”

But he says, “I don’t have time for Trump. Our people are in need,” explaining that hunters like him hunt with dogs on the ice floes and fish, “but the ice floes are melting and the hunters can no longer make a living.”

For Masaana, editor-in-chief of Sermitsiaq, American rhetoric pushes for a fallacious binary choice.

“We really need to avoid having the story end in Greenland having to choose between the United States and Denmark, because that is not the choice the Greenlandic people want.”

For others, who see the strong relationship Greenland already has with the United States deteriorating, there is a clear sense of outrage.

“People in Greenland are really irritated by this situation,” says Christian Keldsen of the Greenland Business Association.

“Greenlanders are welcoming and open, that’s the best thing about this country. But now, with this, some people are afraid.”

Greenland is open for business with the United States, Christian emphasizes, pointing out that there are new direct flights from Greenland to New York – a sure sign “that they don’t need to take us over.”

“We are a well-functioning democracy and our government has a strong mandate,” says Mia. “We are a NATO ally and the United States has had military bases in Greenland for over 70 years and always has the right to create and operate new and more ones.

“As has already been stated in Greenland: we are not for sale, but we are open for business.”