Some Greenlanders expressed outrage at Trump’s threats. But not everyone is worried
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Tillie Martinussen, a former member of Greenland’s parliament, says that US President Donald Trump is treating his country’s citizens as “prostitutes” or “common prostitutes” with his threat to acquire the island.
And it is very insulting, he said, to suggest that Greenlanders are “invulnerable.”
“This is upsetting and crazy and scary for some, but I think most of the time we’re just angry,” Martinussen told CBC News.
He is just one Greenlander expressing anger and frustration at Trump’s recent thoughts that the United States needs to acquire an Arctic island that is a sovereign territory of Denmark.
However, not everyone from the island reacted with anger, with some downplaying the comments made by the Trump administration about the fate of the area.
Diplomacy is the ‘first choice’
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 The action of the American military in Venezuela, has renewed calls for the US to occupy Greenland, citing strategic reasons.
The White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt said in a statement on Tuesday that Trump has made it known that finding Greenland is a top priority for US security, adding that “using the US military is always an option.”
On Wednesday, however, Leavitt told reporters at a White House press conference that “the president’s first choice has always been negotiations.”
Martinussen rejected the idea that talking about taking Greenland is about American security, because, he said, the US “can do almost anything that requires smart security, as long as we’re still discussing it.”
The US Department of Defense operates the Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland as part of a 1951 agreement between Denmark and the United States. It supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the US and NATO.
“I think [Trump] he should come out and say he wants … oil, he wants rare minerals,” said Martinussen.
Avaaraq Olsen, who is the mayor of Nuuk, Greenland, shares how the people of Greenland feel about US President Donald Trump’s threats to use the military to take over the island.
‘We don’t want to be Americans’
Avaaraq Olsen, the mayor of Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, told CBC News that the area had held its largest protests back in the spring, when people came out to strongly reject any US takeover plans.
“And it is still the case of Greenlanders. We think it is disrespectful and offensive that we are included in this again because we have expressed our opinion,” he said.
“We feel like we’re not being treated like our own people living in our own country. We’re being treated like commodities, and we really want to get away from that.”
Sara Olsvig, chairwoman of the Inuit Circumpolar Council in Nuuk, said many people on the island reject the idea that it has been taken over by anyone.
He said the people of Greenland have already been through colonialism and know what it’s like to be interfered with by the interests of other and more powerful nations.
“It has been repeated many times that we don’t want to be Danes,” he said. “We don’t want to be Americans. We are Kalaallit. We are Greenlanders.”
Greenland relies on the US for security
Greenland MP Pele Broberg, who Naleraq, the leader of the pro-independence opposition, did not express concern about Trump’s comments. He told the CBC Power and Politics that people are too eager to put words in Trump’s mouth and interpret what he says instead of listening to him.
“This is where you see this fear, this fear of what you will do.”
Broberg said what he’s hearing from the Trump administration is that they actually want to empower the Greenlandic people by offering, for example, a free association platform that would mean independence in Denmark.
“That doesn’t mean we have to be the US, but again, there’s a big difference between what the media is focusing on and what we’re hearing. So let’s talk about it.”
Greenland MP and opposition leader Pele Broberg responds to US threats to annex Greenland by encouraging direct talks with the Trump administration: ‘We want independence. They want safety. Something we can both benefit from?’
Broberg said that everyone seems to like to talk about being considered a threat by the US while ignoring the fact that Greenland was taken over by Denmark.
“I always tell everyone that we need to talk to adults. [Trump] you want to make a deal. We want independence. They want safety. However, what can we both gain? Yes, maybe, but we won’t find out until we have an interview with them. And that can’t happen through newspapers or Facebook.”
Juno Berthelsen, who is also a member of the Greenland opposition, told the CBC Ottawa Morning that’s all the talk about military intervention is completely absurd.
Berthelsen said that Greenland has been an ally of the US for more than 80 years, with US military bases stationed there. He said the people of Greenland do not want the Americans to leave because they rely on the US to protect the area and defend themselves from Russia and China.
“So for me, this is all a move, and everyone knows that Trump is not a big fan of European power and energy,” he said. “I see no reason to worry.”
