The US interest gave strength to the Greenland’s independence movement and better positioned the theme for future conversations about a separation of Denmark, evaluated the main local pro-independence party.
Arctic Island is expected to go to the polls on March 11, in an election that has independence as its main theme, after recent statements by US President Donald Trump that Denmark should give control of territory to the US due to its strategic importance for US national security.
“Trump’s comments and the new US government line certainly gave more impulse to the independence movement here,” Reuters Juno Berthelsen, a candidate in the March 11 election by the Naleraq Party, told Reuters.
The caption, the most prominent political voice in favor of Greenland’s independence, campaigns to invoke an article of a 2009 law that granted more autonomy to the island, including the right to negotiate its total independence.
If the law is applied, Greenland will start negotiations with Denmark, which grants vital annual subsidies for the Greenland economy. Any agreement will require the approval of the Danish Parliament and a referendum in Greenland.
“The interest we are seeing is a good thing for Greenland to negotiate with the Danish state,” said Berthelsen.
Most Danish consider Greenland an important part of the country, but also believes that the island should be free to decide its future, showed a survey of 1,000 adults in Denmark conducted between January 31 and February 4 by Ipsos.
About 62% of respondents said Greenland was an important Denmark territory, but 77% support the island’s self -determination. A total of 79% is against the sale of the island to the US by the Danish government.
On Thursday, the SIUMUT Party, which rules Greenland and once saw independence as a long-term goal, said it will seek to make a vote on the subject after next month’s overall election.
Trump’s comments triggered a political crisis in Copenhagen. The government has admitted that it has neglected Greenland’s defense for a long time. Last week, Danish parliamentarians agreed to use about $ 2 billion to reinforce the military presence on the island.
With the territory becoming an independent state, Naleraq would seek a defense agreement with the US and a so -called “free association” with Denmark or another country, possibly the United States themselves, Berthelsen said.
Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953, when it officially became part of the country. The island gained more autonomy in 1979, with the establishment of its parliament, and received broader autonomy in 2009.
“It’s time for us to move on and see that independence is the way to go to the Greenish people, because we have been waiting for it for a long time,” concluded Berthelsen.
This content was originally published in US interest helps negotiate separation from Greenland, says the home on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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