Donald Trump’s interest in making Greenland part of the U.S. is no secret, but the island’s leaders aren’t having it.Greenland’s Prime Minister, Mute Egede, has had enough of the talk and recently delivered a three-word slapdown to U.S. President Trump.
The largest protest Greenland has ever seen
Over the weekend, major demonstrations took place across Greenland in response to Donald Trump’s comments about the U.S. potentially taking control of the island.
Thousands gathered in the capital, Nuuk, for what is being described as the largest protest Greenland has ever seen.Considering Nuuk’s population of just 19,000 and Greenland’s total population of 57,000, a few thousand demonstrators represents a significant proportion of the population.
”I’m overwhelmed by the tremendous turnout for the demonstration. I’ve never seen so many people at a protest before,” said the organizer of the demonstration in Nuuk, Orla Joelsen, to the local newspaper Sermitsiaq.
”Enough is enough!” was the message, with citizens also chanting “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.”
The protests also spread to the second-largest city, Sisimiut, and they carried banners with slogans like “Yankee go home” and “We’re not for sale.”
”He hasn’t shown good behavior”
The criticism of Donald Trump in the protest march was harsh.
”He hasn’t shown good behavior. He only uses his media. After his visit, Donald Trump Jr. also said that Greenlanders love the U.S. We want to show that not all of us love the U.S. I hope that as a people, we can show our identity and unity without political affiliation,” one protester said.
The acting Prime Minister of Greenland, Múte B. Egede, who initiated the effort to bring together party leaders, issued a joint statement to Donald Trump on behalf of Greenland. In response to Trump’s previous claims, Egede said:
”Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister Múte B. Egede also participated in this weekend’s demonstrations.
”It gives us strength, and it’s moving to see so many people showing unity in the country. It is completely unacceptable for the leader of another country to try to pressure our land. Unity is our strength,” said Múte B. Egede.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, leader of the liberal political party Demokraatit, which unexpectedly became the largest party in the past week’s parliamentary elections, also participated in the demonstration and stood alongside Múte B. Egede:
”It’s very moving, and I feel proud. As Múte said, witnessing this gives us tremendous strength. We may have many different opinions on many different issues, but on this one, we are all united and standing together,” said Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
This whole situation has definitely sparked a lot of debate, and it’s clear that the people of Greenland aren’t backing down anytime soon.