Trump Aims To Acquire Greenland, Prompting Backlash From International Community
Photo Credit: Naomi Schanen/The Washington Post
US President Donald Trump recently announced his intention to acquire Greenland, and has used tariff and military threats to further his agenda, despite heavy criticism from both NATO and Denmark.
As of Jan. 21, according to the BBC, Trump insisted that the US would not invade Greenland by force. However, he had previously warned during a conversation at the White House that if Greenland refused to go “the easy way,” the US would acquire the land “the hard way,” as per The New York Times. He did not elaborate on what the hard way entailed, which sparked concern for the safety of Greenland. His statement prompted Denmark and other European allies, including Canada, to send military help to Greenland, according to The Conversation.
“We would be frankly unstoppable. But I won't do that," Trump told an audience of world leaders in Davos on Jan. 21, as reported by the BBC.
According to CBC, on Jan. 17, Trump threatened 10 per cent trade tariffs on eight European countries if they did not support his plan to acquire Greenland. They would begin on Feb. 1, increasing to 25 per cent on June 1 if no deal was reached.
This led to an outpouring of criticism from the countries affected. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen insisted that “Europe won't be blackmailed,” according to BBC. She and the leaders of the seven other targeted European countries released a joint statement warning that Trump's tariff threat would “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral." European nations have repeatedly said that only Denmark and Greenland can decide the territory's future.
However, as per CBC, after careful consideration following what Trump called “a very productive meeting” with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Davos, he officially withdrew the threat due to forming “the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland.”
Since then, the majority of Greenlanders have reacted negatively to the idea of a US acquisition, as it would strip away their culture and threaten hopes of eventual independence, according to BBC.
Avaaraq Olsen, the mayor of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, told CBC that the territory held one of its largest demonstrations last spring, where Greenlanders strongly rejected any US takeover plans. “We think it's very disrespectful and offensive that we are brought into this again because we have already said our opinion," she said. "We don't want to be Americans. We are Kalaallit. We are Greenlanders."
Natan Obed, the president of Canada's national Inuit organization, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, has recently spoken up about his disappointment with the movement. Donald Trump's battle for Greenland recalled “centuries of imperialism by different nation states but also colonization by different actors,” Obed said, according to The Guardian.