Thousands of people in Denmark and Greenland protested against President Donald Trump’s aggressive push to take over the Arctic territory. Protesters want Greenlanders to be able to decide for themselves what to do as tensions between the US and Denmark rise.
Protesters in Copenhagen marched to the US embassy with Greenland’s red-and-white flag and signs that said “Hands off Greenland” and “Greenland is not for sale.” Greenlandic groups and ActionAid Denmark put together similar rallies in several Danish cities and on Greenland itself to coincide with a visit from US senators. Sisse Marie Welling, the mayor of Copenhagen, said, “Greenland is not a commodity.”
Trump has said over and over that the US needs to control Greenland, citing strategic Arctic interests and not ruling out force. This has brought up his 2019 proposal to buy Greenland again. Recent “horrendous” phone calls with Danish leaders have made the crisis worse, putting Denmark in “crisis mode.” Protests show that Europeans are very angry about what they see as territorial bullying.
