Copenhagen, Denmark – An international camera crew is being ushered out of Aaja Chemnitz’s office in the Danish parliament to make room for the next interview. Politely but firmly, the journalists are asked to leave – quickly. The busy Greenlandic politician – one of the two MPs with seats in the Danish parliament – is juggling back-to-back media requests as international attention intensifies.
Last week, she took part in a crisis meeting with the Danish foreign relations committee – a meeting with only one item on the agenda: the rapidly worsening relations between the Kingdom of Denmark and its NATO ally, the United States – driven by President Donald Trump’s push to acquire Greenland.
“Greenland is not for sale, and Greenland will never be for sale,” Chemnitz, from the Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) party, tells Al Jazeera while her assistant helps a Finnish newspaper to settle into the office. “People seem to think they can buy the Greenlandic soul. It is our identity, our language, our culture – and it would look completely different if you became an American citizen, and that is not something a majority in Greenland want.”
The other Greenlandic MP, Aki-Matilda Hoegh-Dam of the Naleraq party, says it is a difficult time for Greenland’s 56,000 people.
“It has been a very turbulent time for many Greenlanders,” she tells Al Jazeera. “We have, in many ways, been isolated from the rest of the world for almost 300 years, with limited contact with major powers, especially when it comes to foreign relations. But now we feel cornered, and that is making a lot of people anxious.”
As Greenland is thrust into an uneasy global spotlight, both politicians are splitting their time between Copenhagen and Nuuk.
“All Greenlandic parties have stated that we do not want to be Americans – and that we also do not want to be Danish. We want to be Greenlanders. We already have one coloniser; we do not need a new one,” Aki-Matilda Hoegh-Dam says.
A foreign relations crisis
Since December, the US president has been reiterating his desire to acquire the icy island – a proposal he first mooted during his first term in the White House from 2017. This time, the Trump administration has signalled that military force remains an option, sending jitters through Nuuk and Copenhagen.
While Greenland is self-governing within the Danish kingdom, Copenhagen still controls defence and foreign policy.
“This is the worst foreign relations crisis for the Danish kingdom since World War II,” political commentator Hans Engell, a former Danish defence minister, tells Al Jazeera on a cold and snowy January day in Copenhagen. “Even during the height of the Cold War, I can’t think of anything worse than the current situation with America and Greenland. The problem is that there might not be a good solution to it all.”
Trump says the US needs Greenland for its own national security. Geographically, it is part of North America, but historically it has been tied to Europe, particularly Denmark, which colonised Greenland about 300 years ago.
Since 2009, Greenland has had home rule, but it remains heavily dependent on Denmark for defence and finance. That could change, however. Greenland has rare minerals and oil beneath its ice.
Some observers believe these resources are what are really driving the US president’s interest in the island. Others argue Trump is chasing a legacy: if the US were to acquire Greenland on his watch, the former real estate mogul would go down in history as the president who expanded US territory the most.
Indeed, in a recent interview with The New York Times, he said it is “ownership” that matters, not just control.
Losing sleep
As for the threat of potential US military action, “some refuse to take the threat seriously. But others are worried and can’t sleep at night,” says Hoegh-Dam. “The situation is made worse because the American president is not playing by the normal rules. This new world order represents a break with the rules-based order we were used to. We Greenlanders have to learn to live with that too.”
To be sure, Trump has indicated that he would prefer to make a “real-estate deal” to acquire Greenland without military action. It would not be the first time the US has tried to buy the island.
In 1868, following the purchase of Alaska, Secretary of State William Seward was reportedly prepared to offer $5.5m in gold to acquire Greenland and Iceland.
A more formal attempt was made in 1946, immediately after World War II. Seeing Greenland’s critical role in monitoring Soviet movements, President Harry Truman’s administration offered Denmark $100m in gold – about $1.66bn in today’s money – for the island.
But Denmark flatly rejected the idea both times.
In fact, talk of “buying” Greenland – a proposal that is reportedly under consideration in Washington – is far more complicated than it sounds: any such move would require lengthy negotiations and Greenlandic consent. Denmark cannot simply sell the territory.
“I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way,” Trump said on Friday.
This statement has led to fears in Greenland, according to Masaana Egede, editor-in-chief of the Greenlandic news outlet Sermitsiaq.
“It is deeply unsettling to be on the receiving end of this pressure – whether you are an ordinary citizen or an elected politician. And it is especially unsettling when it comes from Trump himself,” Egede told Danish TV 2.
The prospect of US military intervention became startlingly clear with the recent abduction of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro by US special forces. Maduro now faces trial in New York on drug trafficking and other charges, but many believe Trump’s real aim is to regain US control over Venezuelan oil.
‘Greenlanders are rock-steady’
Last week’s crisis meeting by the Danish foreign relations committee was held in a high-security room, with members leaving their phones outside, due to worries about foreign powers listening in.
The Danish foreign minister announced afterwards that Denmark and Greenland, including Greenland’s foreign affairs minister, have requested a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The meeting, coming on Wednesday, could prove to be a game-changer in the dispute.
“The meeting could have major consequences for Greenland,” Hoegh-Dam tells Al Jazeera.
“I hope that our foreign minister, beyond rejecting any idea of being ‘bought’, can also get a clearer picture of what the US actually wants.”
“Greenlanders are a very proud and rock-steady people. We have a great belief in our nation and people. We will hold on to that belief no matter who is trying to colonise us.”
Greenland finds itself at a pivotal moment in history, and Chemnitz believes the threat from the US should be taken seriously.
“There are two threats to Greenland. There is an internal threat – that is, a number of structural challenges we face in Greenland. And then there is the external threat, which is coming from the US right now at this very moment,” says the Greenlandic MP, before the door to her office closes and the next press interview about the future of her homeland begins.
