Greenlanders have vowed to defend their “freedom” in the face of threats from Donald Trump to seize the world’s largest island. The US president maintains that Greenland, an autonomous territory controlled by Denmark, is vital to his country’s national security. However, locals in the territory’s capital Nuuk have hit back, sending a message that their home is not up for grabs.
Beating his chest, Morten Meller, 60, told the Daily Record: “No. He cannot do this. We must have our freedom! Donald Trump thinks he can buy us, pay money for us, but we are human beings.” The local then added a defiant four-word vow: “We cannot be bought.” Scallop fisherman Peter Hessner said he would like independence while also preserving Greenland’s way of life.
He said the territory could do this without the need for US interference or money. Mr Hessner said: “We want to run our own country, to be independent of other countries, including Denmark.
“We don’t want an even worse arrangement than the one we have. If I was offered independence tomorrow I would take it but I wouldn’t take a deal to be part of America for any amount of money. We want our freedom.
“We have a lot of minerals and we have a lot of fish in the sea. We could open up some mines and we can make a lot of money for our people through this. Our fishing industry can also be very successful.”
Student Malik Jensen, 17, said he would like to pass on a message to Mr Trump from the young people of Nuuk. He said: “My message is this: f*** you. I’m mad about this as we don’t want the Americans here.
“We don’t want our country to be invaded and we don’t want to get annexed – whatever that means. People are afraid right now…
“People are angry and they won’t accept it. Our country is beautiful and we believe that culture and history are more important than money.”
Mr Trump recently threatened to “do something on” Greenland “whether they like it or not” in a horrifying escalation.
He said: “Right now, we are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not because if we don’t do it Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbour. Okay?
“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.”
Earlier this month, a report by Reuters claimed the Trump administration is looking at a possible plan to offer up to a six-figure sum to residents in a bid to see them agreeing to the annexation.
