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Thousands of Greenlanders marched done snow- and ice-covered streets connected Saturday successful what is being described arsenic the largest coordinated protests the Arctic land has seen. The wide rally was aimed astatine rejecting renewed unit from US President Donald Trump to instrumentality power of the territory and voicing enactment for Greenland’s self-rule.In Nuuk, the capital, demonstrators waved their nationalist flag, carried hand-painted signs speechmaking “Greenland is not for sale” and chanted successful Greenlandic arsenic they walked from the metropolis halfway to the US Consulate, which was sealed disconnected by police. According to constabulary and organizers, the march drew astir a 4th of Nuuk’s population, making it unprecedented for a metropolis of less than 20,000 people. Similar protests and solidarity rallies were held successful different Greenlandic towns, arsenic good arsenic successful Copenhagen and different Danish cities, quality bureau AP reported.Greenland premier curate Jens-Frederik Nielsen joined the march successful Nuuk, astatine 1 constituent climbing onto a snowbank to rise a emblem arsenic the assemblage cheered. “We said it past year, and we volition support saying it: We are not for sale,” Isak Berthelsen, a 43-year-old electrician was quoted by the New York Times arsenic saying, adding that repeating the connection was “energizing” due to the fact that it showed Greenlanders had “our ain voice.”Many protesters said they had reached a breaking constituent aft repeated statements by Trump suggesting the United States would instrumentality Greenland “one mode oregon the other.”
“Every caller connection makes it worse,” said Kristian Johansen, a retired carpenter who helped signifier the demonstration. "I anticipation it tin amusement him that we basal unneurotic successful Europe,’ Nuuk constabulary serviceman Tom Olsen was quoted by AP arsenic saying. 'We are not going down without a fight.
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Trump announces tariffs
As the protestation successful Nuuk concluded, quality broke that Trump had announced a 10% import tax, starting successful February, connected goods from Denmark and respective different European countries that reason US power of Greenland.
“I thought this time couldn’t get immoderate worse but it conscionable did,” said Malik Dollerup-Scheibel, a 21-year-old protester, aft learning of the announcement, quality bureau AP reported.Despite concerns astir the economical interaction of tariffs, respective demonstrators said Greenland’s autonomy mattered more. “This is simply a combat for freedom,” said erstwhile Greenland lawmaker Tillie Martinussen.
Why Trump wants Greenland
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly argued that the United States needs to get Greenland for nationalist information reasons, citing increasing planetary contention successful the Arctic.
The White House reiterated this presumption past week, adjacent arsenic protests dispersed crossed Greenland and Denmark.“The President has made his precedence rather clear. He wants the United States to get Greenland. He thinks it is successful our champion nationalist information to bash that,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a media briefing. She added that the deployment of European Nato troops to Greenland would not impact Trump’s plans, saying it did not “impact his extremity of the acquisition of Greenland astatine all.”Trump has warned that if the United States does not instrumentality power of Greenland, rival powers would. He has said that “China oregon Russia will” different summation power implicit the strategically located Arctic island, comments that person heightened tensions wrong Nato and alarmed galore Greenlanders.
Rising planetary tensions
The renewed propulsion has travel alongside accrued subject enactment successful the Arctic. European Nato countries, including France, Germany, Sweden and Norway, person announced unit deployments to Greenland arsenic portion of Danish-led information exercises.
Germany’s defence ministry said the ngo was intended to analyse ways to guarantee Arctic information successful effect to what it described arsenic “Russian and Chinese threats,” portion France confirmed its archetypal unit were already en route, quality bureau AFP reported.The protests followed a week of heightened diplomatic and subject activity. France, Germany, Sweden and Norway person announced the deployment of subject unit to Greenland arsenic portion of Danish-led exercises, a determination Danish officials accidental is aimed astatine strengthening Arctic security.
Denmark’s premier minister, Mette Frederiksen, said a moving radical would beryllium acceptable up connected information issues but stressed that “the American ambition to instrumentality implicit Greenland remains intact,” calling the concern “a superior matter.
”Greenland’s lawman premier minister, Mute Egede, said Nato forces would person a greater beingness successful coming days, portion Russia has criticized the deployments. For galore protesters, however, the connection remained simple. “We are not American, and we volition ne'er beryllium American,” said Maria Meier Brun astatine a rally successful Copenhagen.
