Greenland\u2019s public broadcaster has been canvassing residents\u2019 opinions on US President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s pitch to buy the autonomous Danish territory \u2013 and some of their responses might raise some eyebrows. <\/p>\n
While some of those questioned described Trump\u2019s interest as \u201cdangerous\u201d and \u201cworrying,\u201d others suggested they might \u201chave more trust in Trump\u201d and \u201cchoose the USA.\u201d <\/p>\n
The interviews by Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa (KNR) on Wednesday came a day after a press conference in which Trump reiterated his desire to obtain control over the vast Arctic island, and told reporters he would not rule out using military or economic coercion to achieve his aim. They also come amid a widely publicized trip to the island by Trump\u2019s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. <\/p>\n
Some residents canvassed by KNR criticized Trump Sr.\u2019s comments, saying they would prefer the island to remain under Danish control. <\/p>\n
\u201cI see Donald Trump\u2019s interest in Greenland as very dangerous,\u201d said Greenlander Jens Danielsen. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are so few inhabitants, under 100,000, that I fear that our language would disappear very quickly, so I (would) prefer to stay under Denmark because the relationship between Greenlanders and Danes works well as it is,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
Danielsen said he was also concerned at suggestions that Trump might be interested in obtaining control over Greenland to extract uranium and raw materials. \u201cIf that is why he is interested, it is worrying,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Trump had said the US \u201cneeds\u201d Greenland \u201cfor economic security,\u201d but some experts have suggested he may also be eyeing the island\u2019s trove of natural resources \u2013 including rare earth metals \u2013 which may become more accessible as climate change melts the territory\u2019s ice. <\/p>\n
But others canvassed by KNR appeared more open to Trump\u2019s overtures. <\/p>\n
\u201cEverything is just getting more and more expensive here. Goods from Denmark are extremely expensive, so of course the USA seems more attractive,\u201d cleaning assistant Karen Kielsen said. <\/p>\n
Others saw the debate in light of the island\u2019s independence movement. <\/p>\n
Student Imaakka Boassen said, \u201cI don\u2019t completely trust the Danes. Maybe I would have more trust in Trump.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThere are so many Danes in leading positions in Greenland, but when we live in Greenland, it should be Greenlanders who lead,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
Another resident, Anguteq Larsen, told KNR he would prefer Greenland to be independent, without having to rely on either Denmark or the US. <\/p>\n
Both Greenland\u2019s Prime Minister M\u00fate Egede and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen have said in the past that the island is \u201cnot for sale and will never be for sale,\u201d while Egede posted on Facebook on Tuesday that \u201cGreenland belongs to the people of Greenland.\u201d <\/p>\n
However, despite those rebuttals, debate over Greenland\u2019s future has been stirred up by growing speculation over its independence movement. <\/p>\n
In his recent New Year\u2019s speech, the Greenland prime minister said the island should break free from \u201cthe shackles of colonialism\u201d \u2013 though the speech did not mention the United States. <\/p>\n
Denmark\u2019s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told a press briefing on Wednesday the independence issue should be seen separately to Trump\u2019s comments. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe fully recognise that Greenland has its own ambitions. If they materialise, Greenland will become independent, though hardly with an ambition to become a federal state in the United States,\u201d Rasmussen said. <\/p>\n
Debate has also been stirred by the visit of Trump Jr. \u2013 who arrived in Greenland Tuesday on what Danish officials said was \u201cnot an official American visit\u201d \u2013 and was pictured being greeted by crowds wearing hats bearing his father\u2019s MAGA (Make America Great Again) slogan. <\/p>\n
While there may be no easy way to gauge what the majority of Greenland\u2019s residents think about Trump\u2019s ideas, Chemnitz suggested a referendum on Greenlandic independence could be held in future, and that closer collaboration with the US on business, defense, raw materials and tourism could come about as a result. <\/p>\n
But even that scenario would fall short of Trump\u2019s vision, Chemnitz said. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo Greenland is not MAGA and Greenland is not going to be MAGA,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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