Greenland as a pawn of US imperialism

ON JANUARY 14, a few hours before the historic meeting in Washington between representatives from Greenland and Denmark and their US counterparts, JD Vance and Marco Rubio, Denmark and several of its NATO allies reinforced their military presence in Greenland and announced that further reinforcements would follow.

- LOTTE RØRTOFT-MADSEN

PROTESTERS with placards reading “Greenland is not for sale!” take part in a demonstration in Nuuk that gathered almost a third of the city population to protest against the US president’s plans to take Greenland. | AFP

(AFP)

Some interpreted this move as pressure on the Trump administration before the meeting. But anyone familiar with NATO-Denmark politics would recognise that appeasement with the empire is the more likely explanation.

At the Washington meeting, the US reiterated its firm demand for “having Greenland”: “It is clear that the president wants to conquer Greenland,” declared the Danish foreign minister after the meeting. The parties agreed to establish a “high-level working group” in an effort to contain the crisis.

However, the crisis persists, and its magnitude is immense.

The reality is that for over a year, the nearly 57 000 Greenlanders and their vast island have been turned into a bargaining chip, a pawn to be moved at will on the great chessboard of US imperialism.

Trump has repeatedly stated that the US seeks to control and own Greenland, by military means if necessary. The brutally effective aggression against Venezuela on January 3 and the kidnapping of the country’s head of state and his wife have erased any doubt that the White House administration is capable of putting Trump’s words into action.

The threat is imminent, and it is felt acutely among the Greenlandic people. The population is stuck in a vice, and the country’s politicians must fight hour by hour simply to get a seat at the table and be heard. Not only by the US, but also by Denmark.