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Tilly Martinsson, a former member of Greenland’s parliament, says US President Donald Trump is treating its citizens like “sex workers” or “common prostitutes” and threatening to rule the island.
And she said that it is very insulting to suggest that Greenlanders are “invaders”.
“It’s disgusting and crazy and for some it’s scary,” Martinussen told CBC News.
She is the only Greenlander to express her anger and frustration at Trump’s latest musings that the United States should have. A strategic arctic island Denmark is a self-governing state.
Not all islanders are reacting with anger, however, with some dismissing the Trump administration’s comments about the territory’s fate.
Diplomacy is the ‘first option’
Since his first term in office, Trump has floated the idea of acquiring Greenland, which is part of the Danish territory. But after last weekend US military action in VenezuelaHe again called for the United States to take control of Greenland, citing strategic reasons.
The White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt In a statement on Tuesday Trump has made it clear that the acquisition of Greenland is a national security priority for the United States, adding that “U.S. military use is always an option.”
But on Wednesday, Levitt told reporters at a White House press conference that the president’s “first option is always diplomacy.”
Martinsson rejected the idea that talking about taking Greenland was about US security, saying the US “can do whatever they want for security as long as we talk to them.”
The United States Department of Defense operates the remote Pitufik space station in northwest Greenland as part of a 1951 agreement between Denmark and the United States. It supports US and NATO missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance missions.
“I think[Trump]has to come right out and say that he wants … the oil, the rare earth minerals that he wants,” Martinez said.
Avarak Olsen, the mayor of Nuuk, Greenland, shares the feelings of Greenlanders over US President Donald Trump’s threat to use military force to take control of the island.
“We don’t want to be Americans.”
Avarak Olsen, the mayor of Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, told CBC that the province held its largest demonstration in the spring when people came out to strongly reject any US plans to take over.
“And yet this is the situation of the Greenlanders. We have already spoken our opinion, so we think it is very disrespectful and disgusting to come here again,” she said.
“We feel like we’re not treated as our own people in our country, we’re treated like a commodity, and we really want to get away from that.”
Sara Olsvig, chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council in Nuuk, said many people on the island are rejecting the idea of being occupied by anyone.
She says Greenlanders have already been colonized and know what it’s like to be adversely affected by the interests of other, more powerful countries.
“It’s been repeated over and over again that we don’t want to be Denmark,” she says. “We don’t want to be American. We’re Kalalit. We’re Greenland.”
Greenland is under US protection.
Greenland MP Pele Broberg, who is. Nalerak, leader of the opposition Freedom Party, expressed no concern about Trump’s comments. He told CBC. Power and politics People are more eager to put words in Trump’s mouth and interpret what he says instead of listening to him.
“When he instills this fear, that’s where you see the panic of what he’s going to do.”
What Broberg is hearing from the Trump administration is that he wants to break free from Denmark by offering the people of Greenland, for example, a platform for free association.
“That doesn’t mean we have to be the United States, but again, there’s a big difference between what the press focuses on and what we hear. So let’s skip the conversation.”
Greenland MP and opposition leader Pele Broberg responded to the US’s new threat to buy Greenland by advocating for direct negotiations with the Trump administration: ‘We want independence. They want security. Is there any benefit to both of us?’
Broberg seems to want everyone to talk about US annexation as a threat, completely ignoring the fact that Greenland is occupied by Denmark.
“I tell everybody that we need to have a mature conversation with them.[Trump]wants to make a deal. We want freedom, they want security. Well, is there anything we can get from both of us? Yes, maybe, but we won’t know until we talk to them. And that can’t be through the press or Facebook.”
Juno Bertelsen, a member of Greenland’s opposition party, told the CBC. Ottawa morning All that The talk of military intervention is completely unrealistic.
Bertelson said Greenland has been a U.S. ally for more than 80 years and has U.S. military bases there. Greenlanders do not want the Americans to leave because they rely on the US to protect their territory and defend against Russia and China.
“So to me it’s all sticky, and everyone knows that Trump is not a fan of Europe and European powers.” “I see no reason to worry.”