The last month was a very intense time for local parties, which had very little time to prepare for the election campaign. These early elections were initially to take place in April, such a plan had the prime minister of the region at the beginning of January. But after the announcements of the desire to take over the island by Donald Trump at one meeting with party representatives, Múte Bourup Egede He decided that the Greenlanders would go to the urns on March 11.
He was to express his fears that The situation around the island is tensewhich can lead to the fact that someone from the outside will try to influence the results of the election. For most of the local parties, writing elections was an ideal moment to return to the topic of independence, and Donald Trump was just blowing this topic.
Independence of Greenland: A topic that returns from decades
O Independence trends it was said to Greenland for decades. Two years ago, the local parliament adopted a law that made it possible to write a Greenland constitution. Now the independence process want to speed up three parties. Two of them: Indigenous connections – left -wing separatists and Forward – Social democrats want independence, but they intend to prepare well for this process, which means at least a few years of process. Populists with Naleraq They want to start this process right after the elections and although they talk about independence, they do not hide that they intend to cooperate with a wide cooperation with United States.
Dania It works on them Like a sheet on a bull. The leader of this grouping in an interview with Interia said clearly: “Nothing works with Denmark. We have nothing to do with her. colonial system Still smaches Greenlanders and deprives them of their own identity. We are still treated only as citizens of Denmark. There is nothing to save in this system – it makes no sense to pretend that something can be fixed. The only logical step, consistent with both international law and the will of the native inhabitants of Greenland, is full independence. This does not mean that we do not want to cooperate with Denmark, but It should no longer claim Greenland's rights. The only reason why Denmark is considered the owner of this territory is A unilateral decision from 1953when, without a referendum in Greenland, the act subordinating her Denmark was adopted. In addition, the Danish government lied to UNclaiming that the Greenlanders themselves wanted to become part of Denmark and that there are no Eskimos in Greenland. Today we know that this is not true. We exist and want to regain our land. “
Greenland strengthens reports with the EU and the USA?
Interia also talks about the need to change Aaja Chemnitz – MP in the Danish parliament, which represents Greenland in Copenhagen. He does not hide that the growing interest in Greenland only works in favor of the island: “We must ensure that this interest translates into real benefits for residents. It is also crucial to adapt the legislation so that Greenland can become more independent of Denmark and shape our future. relationships, for example with European Unionto a much greater extent than today. Cooperation possibilities also exist with the United States, especially in key sectors, such as investments, and especially in the scope extraction of rare earth elements. It is also a chance for Greenland to increase access to funds, for example to strengthen the defense system. That's how I perceive this situation. “
Elections in Nuk: Hopes and fears of the young generation
On the streets of Nuk – the capital of Greenland – politicians almost every day meet on debates with voters. Young Greenlanders like Oliver Bech – 19 -year -old, a student and security guard in one of the local bars are also eager for politics. He starts on the social democratic party of the Siumut party. We met him on the street in the center of Nuk, when he distributed electoral leaflets and encouraged to vote for himself.
He paid attention to the fate of the local youth. As Interii said – we young are left here for fate, Totally without prospects. Many of my peers have mental problems and depression. This high percentage of suicide is not a fairy tale. If we don't do anything about it I am not boring Greenland with a pink future.
International Media and Trump topic
On the streets of Nuuk for several days dozens of journalists from around the world. And everyone hunt for residents 20,000 Greenland capitalto find out what their opinion on independence and Donald Trump is. They are clearly tired and often run away from the cameras. No wonder. Because many journalists are not interested in real problems, but whether they like Donald Trump or not.
MP Aaja Chemnitz tells us directly: “The inhabitants of Greenland, however, focus primarily on everyday life and real development opportunities – such as fisheries or other sectors of the economy – instead of focusing on the figure of Donald Trump or international politics. During election meetings, greater emphasis is placed on internal affairs, for example healthcare system and other key social issues. So there is a clear difference between what foreign media focuses on and what is really important for the inhabitants of Greenland. “
Greenland problems: health, economy and infrastructure
And there are a lot of these problems on the island. This is an inefficient health system, High maintenance costs And an increasingly visible problem on the labor market. It is not above all qualified employees. This is a real challenge for most local companies – admits Interia Christian Keldsen – director of the local organization gathering all local entrepreneurs. In his opinion, the island must become more attractive to attract new employees. But it is difficult because of geographical locationproblems with the local critical infrastructure and the inability to move freely. There is no road network connecting individual cities in Greenland. To get from one place to another or you need to use the services of a national air carrier who wishes dearly for tickets or move by sea, which is time consuming. Only fuel is cheap, but this is not a consolation for the Greenlanders, since the car can be traveled here only a few kilometers to the other end of the city.
Many inhabitants of the island speak of the importance of these choices and bind a lot of hope with these choices for a better future and sovereignty. Especially native inhabitants complain that they are treated as second -class citizens Kingdom of Denmark. Recent surveys conducted by several renowned universities and scientific institutes show that as many as 66-70 percent of the Greenlanders want the island to decide in the future, even though the dishes currently transfer to the local government nearly EUR 500 million, which is half of the island's annual budget. Only 6 percent residents of the region wants to connect to the USA.
From Greenland for Interia Tomasz Lejman