Media: Greenlanders rally against Trump's plan to annex their island

Hundreds of Greenlanders took to the streets on March 15 to protest against US President Donald Trump's stated goal of taking control of their island.

In the capital, Nuuk, video footage captured crowds waving Greenland's flag and holding signs with messages such as "Respect Greenland's sovereignty," "We are not for sale," and "Make America Go Away" — a play on Trump's campaign slogan "Make America Great Again", Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

Rallies were also held in various towns across the island, with demonstrators expressing their opposition to the idea of Greenland becoming part of the US. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, leader of the center-right Demokraatit party, which won this week's parliamentary election, led the protest alongside outgoing Prime Minister Mute B. Egede.

The two politicians directed the crowd toward the US consulate on the outskirts of Nuuk. "We want to be ourselves, and our autonomy and freedom will never be put up for debate," Nielsen told the Danish Broadcasting Corporation during the rally.

"There is not the slightest chance that I will talk to Trump about Greenland becoming part of the US. Greenland will be Greenland," he added. Speaking to Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq on March 15, Egede called the US president's approach "completely unacceptable," reaffirming his opposition to any attempts at annexation. 

Over recent months, Trump has repeatedly voiced his interest in taking control of Greenland, an idea he reiterated March 6 during a meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte at the White House. When asked about a possible annexation, Trump confidently stated: "I think it will happen." He went on to emphasise the strategic importance of Greenland to US national security, noting that the US already maintains military bases on the island.

Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark, is a strategically important Arctic island with just 57,000 inhabitants. Lawmakers in Greenland have strongly opposed Trump’s suggestion, arguing that the island’s sovereignty is non-negotiable. On March 14, the leaders of the five parties in Greenland's parliament issued a joint statement rejecting Trump's comments. "We — all party chairmen — cannot accept the repeated statements on annexation and control of Greenland," they said. "We, as party chairmen, find this conduct unacceptable to friends and allies in a defence alliance."

Earlier, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen stated that the people of Greenland do not have a desire to become American citizens.

Rasmussen rejected US President Donald Trump’s recent comments claiming that Greenland’s latest election results are beneficial to US interests.

“It’s a misinterpretation of the Greenlandic election to conclude that we’ll have an independent Greenland tomorrow, flying a white flag that can then be painted with stars and stripes,” Rasmussen said.

The comments followed Greenland's parliamentary elections on March 11, in which the center-right Democrats defeated the governing left-wing coalition, securing their best results to date. The Democrats, a pro-business party, more than tripled their vote share from the 2021 elections, receiving around 30 per cent of the vote.

The party supports Greenland’s independence but advocates for a gradual approach. 

By Naila Huseynova