Island's parties push back against US control ambitions

Since Donald Trump returned to the White House a year ago, he has repeatedly called for gaining control of Greenland. However, his threat to take over the autonomous Danish territory has met with strong and consistent opposition from Greenland's political leaders and the local population.

"We don't want to be Americans, we don't want to be Danish, we want to be Greenlanders," all five parties in Greenland's parliament said in a joint statement issued on Jan 9, days after Trump renewed his claim over the mineral-rich island.

"As Greenlandic party leaders, we would like to emphasize once again our wish that the United States' contempt for our country ends," the statement said. It was signed by leaders of all parliamentary parties, including Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.

"No other country can meddle in this. We must decide the future of our country ourselves, without pressure for quick decisions, procrastination, or intervention from other countries," they said.

That sentiment echoes the findings of the most recent opinion poll that related to the subject, which was conducted in January last year, when Trump suggested purchasing the island from Denmark and threatened to impose tariffs if Copenhagen refused.

Asked whether Greenland should leave Denmark and become part of the United States, 85 percent of respondents said no. Six percent said they wanted Greenland to leave the Danish Realm and join the US, while 9 percent were undecided.

The poll was conducted through online interviews with 497 representative respondents out of Greenland's population of about 56,000, by Verian, a global consulting firm specializing in public policy in London.

Despite the overwhelming opposition to joining the US, Pele Broberg, leader of the main opposition party Naleraq, has called on Greenland to bypass Denmark and negotiate directly with Washington, arguing that engagement with the US could accelerate Greenland's path to independence.

"We encourage our current government to have a dialogue with the US government without Denmark," Broberg told Reuters on Jan 7.

"Denmark is antagonizing both Greenland and the US through its mediation."

With a history of colonization by Denmark, all Greenlandic parties support independence in principle, though they differ on how and when it should be achieved.

Naleraq advocates a rapid move toward full independence. The party won 25 percent of the vote in the March parliamentary election and holds eight of the 31 seats in Inatsisartut, Greenland's parliament, but is not part of the governing coalition.

The same poll found that 56 percent of respondents would vote in favor of independence if a referendum were held, 28 percent would vote against, and 17 percent said they were undecided.

Wang Jingli contributed to this story.