Greenland soon to be American? According to the statements of the man who will occupy the Oval Office in Washington in four weeks, it is within the realm of possibility, just like taking back the Panama Canal or annexing Canada to add a star to the American flag. Donald Trump, accustomed to making sweeping statements, had already made this type of statement during his first term.
“Greenland is ours”
“For national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America believes that ownership and control of Greenland makes it an absolute necessity.”the Republican wrote on Sunday, December 22, on his Truth Social network, without specifying what he meant by that. “Greenland is ours”replied the next day the Prime Minister of Greenland, Mute Egede. “We are not for sale, and we never will be. We will not give up our long fight for freedom”he wrote on Facebook, adding however that “we must remain open to cooperation and international trade, particularly with our neighbors.”
Donald Trump has not yet started his presidency, but we already have the vague impression of a remake of a bad film. Because Donald Trump had already made such a statement in 2019. During his first term, he had openly considered the purchase by the United States of this Arctic territory, evoking a potential “big real estate transaction” who would be “strategically interesting”. The affair had caused a diplomatic crisis with Denmark, a member of NATO and to which this icy territory, four times the size of France, is attached.
Even if he really wanted it, Donald Trump couldn't acquire it. This territory, snowy most of the year, populated by only 56,609 inhabitants (according to statistics from January 2023), is the largest island in the world. Inuit peoples arrived there in the 13th century. First colonized by the Kingdom of Norway around 1262, it was ceded to Denmark in 1814, becoming one of its colonies, then part of the community of the Kingdom of Denmark in 1953 under the Constitution of that country.
Very strong autonomy in Greenland
In 1979, Denmark granted internal autonomy to Greenland, and on November 25, 2008, the Greenlanders voted by consultative referendum with 75% in favor of reinforced autonomy. The Danish Parliament then passed a law to this effect, promulgated in May 2009. Denmark ceded 32 areas of competence to its former colony, including those of the police and justice. But monetary policy, defense and foreign policy remain under Danish control.
The current issue for the United States is above all military. The Thule base has been an important link in the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) radar chain — designed to detect possible ballistic missile launches from Eurasia — since the start of the Cold War , and an Air Force Space Command satellite monitoring station. And, in 1962, President John Kennedy, aware of the importance of this territory, declared: “He who owns the Pole, owns the world. »
