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Greenland OKs Denmark, US Security Deal11/04 06:39
ILULISSAT, Greenland (AP) -- Greenlandic lawmakers on Tuesday voted to
approve an agreement between the Arctic island, Denmark and the United States
to strengthen security in the Arctic and North Atlantic after months of
pressure by U.S. President Donald Trump seeking to control the semiautonomous
territory of a NATO ally.
The trilateral deal paves the way for more U.S. bases in Greenland and eases
tensions over Trump's repeated calls for the vast island to become part of the
United States. The agreement's goal is to bolster the U.S. military presence on
Greenland but keep the self-governing island under Danish control. It would
still apply if Greenland eventually chooses independence.
Greenlandic lawmakers voted 16-0 for the agreement, with seven abstentions,
in the capital city of Nuuk.
Some 570 kilometers (350 miles) north of Nuuk, Nukaaka Lund-Mathaeussen
hoped that the deal's approval means the Trump administration "got what they
wanted."
"Hopefully after this we won't be getting underhanded threats from the
American government," the 28-year-old Ilulissat resident told The Associated
Press in Ilulissat after the vote.
William Tukula, a 34-year-old chef in Ilulissat, said he'd seen posts on
Facebook from older Greenlanders who were "a little bit scared about Trump and
soldiers."
The U.S. president had previously said he would not rule out the use of
military force to seize control of Greenland because he declared U.S. control
of it to be vital to American national security, though he also underlined his
support for Greenlanders determining their own future. He later backed down
from any threat.
The White House had no immediate comment on the vote, but the State
Department said it "marks another major victory for American national security."
"This administration is securing America's strategic interests in the
Arctic, strengthening our national defense and ensuring this critical region
remains free of adversarial threats," it said in a post on X.
Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime
Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen signed the security agreement in September on
the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
Nielsen, in a post on Facebook after Tuesday's vote, said Greenlanders stood
united over the last few months despite the geopolitical tensions to show the
world that the island decides its own fate.
"We must be able to cooperate with other countries," he wrote, adding that
the cooperation must respect "our people, our country and our rights."
He added: "Greenland is our country. Greenland will always be our country."
Danish lawmakers are set to debate it later this month. The deal will "enter
into force" once the "necessary parliamentary processes of the Kingdom of
Denmark, in conjunction with Greenland, have been completed."
Despite the Greenland parliament's approval, Lund-Mathaeussen said some
residents on the island felt worried and powerless. "What can a regular guy
like me do about the diplomatic engine?" the municipality worker said. "It's a
big machine, and being a small person here in Greenland -- it's hard to have
any influences on those things."
Nukaaraq Thomsen, a 43-year-old incineration plant worker from Ilulissat,
said the trilateral deal still won't benefit Greenlanders.
"My opinion is it's safe for Greenland. But not for the people -- only for
the land," Thomsen told the AP on Tuesday.
In expanding its military presence on the island, the agreement says
Washington is to award contracts for goods and services related to setting up,
maintaining or dismantling such bases "to Greenlandic sources to the maximum
extent possible."
But Lars Erik Gabrielsen, mayor of Avannaata Municipality, is not convinced
that Greenlanders will see any advantages.
"It's a good deal for Denmark, NATO. Not a good deal for us," he said.
"There are no benefits, no money to our society. Zero."
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