Greenlanders Voice Adamant Opposition to US Annexation

President Trump is engaged in a one-sided courtship with the people and government of Greenland.

Trump has said many times that he wants to claim the autonomous Danish territory for the US. He wants it for its vast mineral resources and its security value. But Greenlanders have made it clear that they oppose such an annexation.  

Last week the citizens of the world’s largest island voted in favor of a pro-independence party that doesn’t want to be absorbed by the US. In fact, it wants to strike out on its own from Denmark some day. Denmark colonized Greenland over 300 years ago. None of the leading Demokraatit party’s rivals want to be part of the US either. They issued a joint statement saying so. 

Recent polls back that up. A survey done in January by the London-based research group Verian found that 85% of Greenlanders opposed leaving Denmark to become a US territory. Only 6% favored US annexation. 

Roughly 1,000 of the nation’s 57,000 people gathered in Nuuk over the weekend. Nuuk is Greenland's capital. They were there to protest Trump’s stated desire to claim Greenland. Locals described it as the largest protest in the country's history. They chanted such slogans as “Yankees, go home!” and “We are not for sale!”  

“We may have different views on many issues, but we are all united in this,” Jens-Frederik Nielsen told the crowd. He's the Demokraatit party leader.

Yet Trump persists in his stated desire to take it. He hasn't ruled out the use of military force to seize Greenland. In his joint address to Congress in early March, Trump said,  “I think we’re going to get it one way or the other.”   

Reflect: Why might it be important for people to have a say in decisions that affect their land and future?

Photo of protesters gathering in front of the US consulate during a demonstration in Nuuk, Greenland from Reuters.