Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: President-elect Donald Trump’s pre-inauguration announcements have created a peculiar situation for Greenland: Its left-wing leader, who was trying to get freedom from Denmark, has been forced to go back to the same Danish monarch for protection!
According to the media reports, Greenland Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede will meet the Danish king in Copenhagen on Wednesday, after Trump said he wanted to take control of the cold desert Arctic island, an autonomous territory of Denmark. Greenland is closer to the US than to Denmark.
Trump, who takes office on January 20, said on Tuesday he would not rule out using military or economic action to make Greenland part of the United States. The same day, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., made a private visit to Greenland.
Interestingly, Egede, leader of a left-wing political party that supports future independence from Denmark, has been critical of Copenhagen. But the Trump threat forced him to rush back to the Danish monarch.
Earlier, he announced before his departure that a meeting with Denmark’s King Frederik, scheduled for Wednesday, had been postponed but gave no reason. However, the Danish royal court later said the meeting would take place, giving no further details, the media reported.
Greenland, with an area of 2.166 million square km but a population of only 57,000, has been part of Denmark for 600 years. It controls most of its domestic affairs as a semi-sovereign territory under the Danish Crown. Its relations with Copenhagen have lately been strained over allegations of historic mistreatment of Greenlanders under the Danish colonial rule.
Reacting to the fresh controversy, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday that she could not imagine Trump’s ambitions would lead to US military intervention in Greenland.
Denmark is responsible for the security and defense of Greenland, but its military capabilities are limited to four inspection vessels, a Challenger surveillance plane, and dog sled patrols.
Responding to the US President-elect’s threat to slap tariffs against Denmark, Frederiksen said she did not think a trade war with Washington was a good way forward.
Still, Trump’s openly stated ambition to expand US control of territory has jolted allies less than two weeks before he takes power.
“There is obviously no question that the European Union would let other nations of the world attack its sovereign borders, whoever they are,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot was quoted as saying. “We are a strong continent.”
Greenland PM Egede said the island he leads is not for sale. Ironically, only last week, in his New Year speech, he had stepped up his push for independence from Denmark.
Even Denmark said its semi-autonomous territory is not for sale, and that its fate can be decided only by Greenlanders.
The Greenland issue has been simmering for some years. In 2019, Trump canceled a planned visit to Denmark after Prime Minister Frederiksen rebuffed his idea of the US purchasing Greenland.