COPENHAGEN, DENMARK – An international photographer is being summoned from Arya Chemnitz’s office in the Danish parliament to make room for an upcoming interview. In a polite but firm manner, journalists are asked to leave immediately. The busy Greenlandic politician, one of two members of Denmark’s parliament, is fielding a flurry of media requests amid growing international attention.
Last week, she participated in a crisis meeting with the Danish Foreign Affairs Committee. The only topic of discussion at the meeting was the rapidly deteriorating relationship between the Kingdom of Denmark and the United States, a NATO ally, due to President Donald Trump’s push to acquire Greenland.
“Greenland is not for sale, and Greenland will never be for sale,” Chemnitz, of the Inuit Atakatigigit (IA) Party, told Al Jazeera while helping an assistant settle into the offices of a Finnish newspaper. “People seem to think they can buy the soul of Greenland. It’s our identity, it’s our language, it’s our culture. And if you become an American citizen, it’s going to look completely different. That’s not what the Greenlandic majority wants.”
Another Greenlandic lawmaker, Aki-Matilda Hoog-Dam of the Narerak party, says these are difficult times for Greenland’s 56,000 people.
“It has been a very turbulent time for many Greenlanders,” she told Al Jazeera. “We have been isolated from the rest of the world in many ways for almost 300 years, with limited access to great powers, especially in diplomatic relations. But now we feel cornered, and that is making many people anxious.”
Both politicians are splitting their time between Copenhagen and Nuuk as Greenland receives disturbing global attention.
“All political parties in Greenland say we don’t want to be Americans and we don’t want to be Danes. We want to be Greenlanders. We already have one colonizer. We don’t need another colonizer,” says Aki-Matilda Hogue-Dam.
crisis in diplomatic relations
Since December, the US president has repeatedly expressed a desire to acquire the ice island, with the proposal first mooted during his first term in the White House in 2019. At the time, Denmark’s prime minister called the idea “ridiculous,” and President Trump canceled an official state visit to Denmark. This time, the Trump administration has indicated that military force remains an option, sparking unrest in Nuuk and Copenhagen.
Greenland has autonomy within the Kingdom of Denmark, but Copenhagen still controls defense and foreign policy.
“For the Kingdom of Denmark, this is the worst diplomatic crisis since World War II,” former Danish defense minister and political commentator Hans Engel told Al Jazeera on a cold, snowy January day in Copenhagen. “I can’t think of a worse situation than the current situation between America and Greenland, even in the midst of the Cold War. The problem is that there may not be a good solution to everything.”
President Trump said the United States needs Greenland for its national security. Geographically it is part of North America, but historically it is tied to Europe, particularly Denmark, which colonized Greenland some 300 years ago.
Since 2009, Greenland has had autonomy, but remains heavily dependent on Denmark for defense and finances. However, things may change. Rare minerals and oil exist under the ice of Greenland.
Some observers believe that these resources are what are actually driving the US president’s interest in the island. Some argue that President Trump is chasing a legacy. If the United States were to acquire Greenland on President Trump’s watch, the former real estate mogul would go down in history as the president who expanded the United States the most.
In fact, in a recent interview with the New York Times, he said it’s not just control that matters, but “ownership.”
I can’t sleep
As for the threat of possible U.S. military action, “some people don’t want to take that threat seriously,” Hodam said. “But some people are so anxious they can’t sleep at night.” “The situation is made worse because the president of the United States does not play by the normal rules. This new world order represents a break with the rules-based order we are used to, and we Greenlanders must learn to live with it, too.”
Indeed, President Trump has indicated that he wants to make a “real estate deal” to acquire Greenland without military action. This is not the first time the United States has attempted to purchase the island.
In 1868, after purchasing Alaska, Secretary of State William Seward was reportedly willing to offer $5.5 million in gold to purchase Greenland and Iceland.
A more formal attempt was made in 1946, just after World War II. Seeing Greenland’s important role in monitoring Soviet movements, President Harry Truman’s administration offered Denmark $100 million (about $1.66 billion in today’s money) for Greenland.
But Denmark flatly rejected the idea both times.
In fact, talk of “buying” Greenland (a proposal reportedly under consideration in Washington) is much more complicated than it seems, and any such move would require lengthy negotiations and Greenland’s consent. Denmark cannot simply sell its territory.
“I want to do it the easy way. But if you’re not going to do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way,” Trump said Friday.
Masaana Egede, editor-in-chief of the Greenlandic news agency Samitsiaq, said the comments had caused unrest in Greenland.
“Whether you’re an ordinary citizen or an elected politician, it’s very disturbing to be on the receiving end of this pressure, and it’s especially disturbing when it comes from Trump himself,” Egede told Denmark’s TV 2.
The recent abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by US special forces has made the possibility of US military intervention alarmingly clear. Maduro is currently on trial in New York on drug trafficking and other charges, but many believe Trump’s real goal is to regain U.S. control over Venezuelan oil.
“Greenlanders are solid.”
Last week’s crisis meeting by the Danish Foreign Affairs Committee was held in a heavily guarded room, with members leaving their cellphones outside due to concerns about eavesdropping by foreign powers.
Denmark’s foreign minister then announced that Denmark and Greenland, including Greenland’s foreign minister, had requested a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The talks, which take place on Wednesday, could be a game-changer in the conflict.
“This meeting could have a major impact on Greenland,” Hodam told Al Jazeera.
“I hope that our foreign minister can get a clearer picture of what the United States actually wants, rather than just rejecting the idea of being ‘bought’.”
“Greenlanders are a very proud and steadfast people. We have great faith in our country and our people, and we will continue to have that faith no matter who wants to colonize us.”
Greenland is at a pivotal moment in its history, and Chemnitz believes the U.S. threat should be taken seriously.
“There are two threats to Greenland: an internal threat, the many structural challenges we face in Greenland, and an external threat, which is coming from the United States at this very moment,” the Greenlandic lawmaker said before his office door closed and the next press conference on the future of his homeland began.
