Poll shows 85% of Greenlanders do not want to be part of US

COPENHAGEN - An opinion poll indicated on Jan 28 that 85 per cent of Greenlanders do not wish their Arctic island – a semi-autonomous Danish territory – to become a part of the US, Danish daily Berlingske reported.

US President Donald Trump said earlier in January that Greenland is vital to US security and Denmark should give up control of the strategically important island.

The survey by pollster Verian, commissioned by the Danish paper and Greenlandic daily Sermitsiaq, showed only 6 per cent of Greenlanders are in favour of becoming part of the US, with 9 per cent undecided.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Jan 28 she had given full backing to the principle of maintaining respect for international borders, following meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

“I am pleased if the survey is an expression that many Greenlanders would like to see continued close cooperation with Denmark. Probably in a different form than what we know today, because everything changes over time,” she told Berlingske in response to the poll.

Denmark said on Jan 27 it would spend 14.6 billion crowns (S$2.7 billion) on boosting its military presence in the Arctic.

Greenland – with a land mass larger than Mexico and a population of 57,000 – was granted broad self-governing autonomy in 2009, including the right to declare independence from Denmark through a referendum.

Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede, who has stepped up a push for independence, has repeatedly said the island is not for sale and that it is up to its people to decide their future.The US military has a permanent presence at the Pituffik Space Base in north-western Greenland, a strategic location for its ballistic missile early warning system, as the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the island. REUTERS