Greenland's Prime Minister seeks independence from Denmark
Photo: Múte Egede, Prime Minister of Greenland (facebook.com/mutebegede)
During his New Year's speech, the Prime Minister of Greenland, Múte Egede, expressed his desire for independence from Denmark. He stated that he wants the island to determine its own future, Reuters reports.
"It is about time that we ourselves take a step and shape our future, also with regard to who we will cooperate closely with, and who our trading partners will be," Egede stated.
According to him, history has shown that Greenland's cooperation with Denmark "has not succeeded in creating full equality."
"It is now time for our country to take the next step. Like other countries in the world, we must work to remove the obstacles to cooperation – which we can describe as the shackles of colonialism – and move forward," the Prime Minister clarified.
He also emphasized that the people of Greenland must make the decision on independence but did not specify when a referendum might take place.
Greenland's Independence
Until 1953, Greenland was a Danish colony, but it is now a self-governing territory of Denmark. In 2009, it gained the right to declare independence through a vote.
According to Reuters, the movement for Greenland's independence has become particularly popular among the island's population. One of the reasons is the revelation of actions taken by Danish authorities in the 20th century, including a campaign of forced birth control initiated in the 1960s.
The news agency notes that while most of Greenland’s 57,000 residents currently support independence, there are disagreements regarding the timeline and the potential impact on living standards.
Trump's Statement
Recently, elected US President Donald Trump stated that the United States considers "possession and control of Greenland an absolute necessity."
In response to this statement, Denmark’s Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen noted that his country is strengthening Greenland's defense. To this end, a defense package worth approximately $1.5 billion has been allocated.
