Amid Trump's call to purchase Greenland, island's leader pushes for independence

At a time when US President-elect Donald Trump has called for the annexation of Greenland, the region’s head has pushed for independence from Denmark.

In his New Year’s message, Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede pushed for independence from Denmark.

Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark. It has a local government that runs it. The foreign policy, defence policy, and security policy of Greenland remain the domains of the Danish government. It used to be a Danish colony till 1953 but then become a part of the Danish kingdom.

In recent time, amid calls for Greenland’s annexation by Trump and his cheerleaders, the Danish government has stepped up defence spending regarding the island, pledging to acquire more ships and drones for the island’s defences and surveillance and expanding an airport on the island.

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‘It’s about time we shape our future’

In a speech that marks a remarkable escalation in Greenland’s independence movement, particularly because of the timing, Egede said the time had come for the islanders to “shape our future”.

Egede said, “It is about time that we ourselves take a step and shape our future, also with regard to who we will cooperate closely with, and who our trading partners will be.”

Indicting the Danes for not taking care of the island, Egede said, “The history and current conditions have shown that our cooperation with the Kingdom of Denmark has not succeeded in creating full equality. It is now time for our country to take the next step. Like other countries in the world, we must work to remove the obstacles to cooperation – which we can describe as the shackles of colonialism – and move forward.”

Even as Egede went on to call for a referendum for independence, he did not give any timeline.

Previously, Egede has rejected Trump’s call for annexation. Last year, in an apparent response to Trump’s statements, he said, “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale.”

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Why Trump wants Greenland

Trump has said that the control of Greenland was an “absolute necessity” for ensuring US national security.

“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity. Ken will do a wonderful job in representing the interests of the United States,” said Trump in the post on Truth Social.

As Greenland lies very close to mainland United States and is on the way from Russia to America, it has a prized place in the US security architecture. The calls for annexation are, however, deemed too extreme.

There are speculations of the island having natural gas and oil which have attracted business interests. As Trump is known to reward his billionaire friends and family members with plum posts, it has been wondered if the businessman in him has eyes on island’s mineral wealth.

In the book ‘The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021’, journalists Peter Baker and Susan Glasser wrote that the idea of annexing Greenland was floated to Trump by billionaire friend Ronald Lauder during his first term. The book notes that John Bolton, the top national security official of Trump, at the time preferred increased US presence to counter Chinese incursions, but not outright purchase.