politics
Greenland and the new world order:
“Now We Spend More on Defense Than Diplomacy”
Tromsø (High North News): The new world order is a hot topic as world leaders enter the Arctic Frontiers conference in the Norwegian Arctic. “Greenland’s red line must be respected”, says Greenlandic politician Aaja Chemnitz.
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Monday the Greenland Parliament, Inatsisartut, adopted a statement that says Greenland’s right to self-determination must be defended by all means.
The Parliament met in a extraordinary meeting with a single item on the agenda; the situation surrounding the United States’ president’s claim for Greenland.
Greenland’s prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen (Demokraatit) believes that the United States will in no way accept a independent Greenland, and therefore talk of statehood is out of place at this time.
Far from independence
Aaja Chemnitz Arnatsiaq Larsen (Inuit Ataqatigiit), member of the Danish Folketing, agrees. Even if her party wants independence in the long run.
“Political and economic independence is interlinked, so independence is far out in the future. But as a population, as peoples, it's important for us to have that as a goal. The right to self-determination is the core of who we are”, Chemnitz says when meeting with HNN in Tromsø, Northern Norway.
A quick fix is completely out of the question
But now is not the time.
“The quality of the solutions needs to be better. So, a quick fix is completely out of the question. That's why we're in this situation, as the MAGA movement was told that a quick fix when it comes to Greenlandic independence was on the table. We're much more realistic now," the politician explains.
The good fight
For the past year, Greenlandic and Danish politicians have been fighting Trump's narrative with everything they have. A fight that will be written in history books whichever way it goes. For now, they keep fighting.
“This is the test of our history for us as individuals, a community and for the population. And we must keep fighting as it's quite clear that the USA has not respected our red lines”, Chemnitz says, adding that she does see streams of hope.
"We're moving in the right direction when it comes to the U.S. respecting that our future is completely up to us. But it's too early to lower our shoulders and put our guard down.”
NATO, we need to talk
Do you still trust the NATO alliance?
“Yes, I still trust NATO, but we need to talk. Trust needs to be rebuilt, to be honest. We need to make sure that all NATO countries are being respected.”
NATO is strengthening the Arctic defense, something that Greenland has been asking for.
“We're investing a lot of money in defense now, and not that much in diplomacy.”
You could be next
The clear-spoken politician also issues a warning;
“Our security is also your security. For now, it's about Greenland, but it's important to be aware of who is going to be next.”
Chemnitz will repeat the message until she is blue in the face.
“I think I have said it in around 4,000 interviews just last year. Greenland is not for sale. That should have ended the discussion.”
Still, here we are.
Started the talks
During Greenland and Denmark’s meeting with the U.S. vice president J. D. Vance and Foreign secretary Marco Rubio in January, a working group was established. The group already met last week, and have scheduled the next meeting.
Both Chemnitz and Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt (Siumut), ask to give the group space and peace to work.
“We need to make sure that the working group and the premises for the group are something that we can agree upon before anything else is being dealt with.”
Constructive discussion
Motzfeldt says that she and Foreign Minister Trouls Lund Poulsen (Liberal) had a constructive discussion with the U.S. officials.
“We agreed to establish the high-level working group to work toward finding solutions to the U.S. interest in Greenland without compromising the integrity of the territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, our integrity, and our right to self-determination”, Motzfeldt states, unwilling to to elaborate.
We are in a better place than just three weeks ago
“The working group should work in peace.”
On track to diplomacy
She does shine some light on the negotiations, saying that Greenland and USA are in “a better place now”.
“We are in a better place than just three weeks ago. Now we have direct communication and are on track towards diplomacy. I believe that we'll be able to find good solutions.
Strenghtened Arctic security, the Danish Arctic strategy calling out the USA as the biggest threat, climate change, Russias war in Ukraine. It all adds up to a new world order.
One that the people of the Arctic only have to look out the window to see, as military ships share space with huge tourist cruise ships in a warming environment.
The new world order
In the new world order Aaja Chemnitz find herself in the Norwegian Arctic having to express to Trumps “man in Greenland”, Tom Dans that, again, “Greenland is not for sale, and it needs to be respected.”
So she welcomes the discussion of how to strengthen the defense in the Arctic without crossing the Greenlandic red lines.
“To talk about buying a country or a people and even talking about it as a “big chunk of ice” without talking about the people that live there, the heart of the nation, is really appalling to me.”
Not for Americans
Chemnitz is also tired of the lies about the island.
“Do we have challenges? Yes. Do we have things we need to sort out between Greenland and Denmark? Of course. But we won't do that in public. Greenland and Denmark is standing fully united. Yes, we have challenges and a long list of to-do things. But that's not something that we're going to talk to the Americans about.”
According to the defense treaty from 1951, it is possible for the U.S. to establish more military bases with more troops than they have on the island today. The treaty is valid until a new one is negotiated.
“The biggest threat that we're seeing is actually from the U.S., not China or Russia. And are we willing to have more American military bases in Greenland? The defense agreement from 1951 needs to be discussed and is already a topic in NATO", Chemnitz says.
“We also have a more formal dialogue with the United States on the defense treaty. We have a permanent and joint committee based on civilian cooperation. So it is in all our interest to find good solutions. And even though the situation is very tense today, we hope for a better future. The United States is an ally, and hopefully it will remain that way. For us, it's important that we are part of NATO, and that the alliance stays strong”, says Motzfeldt.
Nothing with us without us
In 2021, Chemnitz spoke on the Arctic Circle Assembly in Iceland, uttering the phrase that ended up in Greenlands Arctic strategy of 2024-2033:
Nothing with us without us.
A lot of negotiations where we are included
Has that been respected?
“Yes. I do see one or two negotiations, for example, on defense, where we don't have a seat at the table. But there are also a lot of negotiations where we are included. And that's why we see the good results. I see things going in the right direction, “nothing about us without” us is something I don't need to say it anymore. When they see me, they know.
Does the rest of the world understand that?
“One of the good things that has come out of this is that people are respecting the right to self-determination for Greenland. We've been fighting for centuries, and we're going to fight for centuries to come. Because we have to fight more than people who take their rights for granted.
