amna: After six years of work,
the world's biggest island has
finally unveiled a draft for its
constitution.
Greenland occupies a vital
strategic location in the north
atlantic and gained autonomy
from Denmark in 1979, but the
former colonial power still has
control of the island's most
important affairs.
As special correspondent Malcolm
brabant reports, greenlanders
are now seeking greater
influence in the world, and a
future free of Denmark.
Malcolm: In Greenland's coastal
settlements, the clamor to break
free intensifying.
200 years after Greenland was
dragooned into the kingdom of
demark, is draft constitution
reflects the frustrations of the
primarily inuit people at the
top of the world.
>> We are trying to break from
the colonial chains.
Malcolm: Aki Matilda hoegh-dam
is one of two lawmakers
representing Greenland in the
Danish parliament.
Ms. Høegh-dam: In the end, it
has nothing to do with you in
Denmark that we are acting this
way.
It has everything to do with us
wanting to move forward in our
lives.
Malcolm: In may, høegh-dam
caused outrage by refusing to
speak Danish during a
parliamentary debate, Ju feet
from prime minister Mette
Frederiksen.
>> Let me once again encourage
you to read your speech in
Danish.
Malcolm: Why did you do it?
Ms. Høegh-dam: I did it to
demonstrate the inequality of
the systems that we have.
So people keep telling me that
there is a community, that it's
a realm where people are
intertwined and interconnected
and we have the same language,
the same culture, and everyone
knows that's not true.
Malcolm: What sort of backlash
have you had from that?
Ms. Høegh-dam: I've received a
lot of backlash for it.
So people are not used to,
especially people from Denmark
are not used to anyone speaking
other than Danish in the Danish
parliament.
So a lot of hate mail, a lot of
harassment in general.
Malcolm: With eighty percent of
Greenland covered in ice, it's a
barometer for climate change.
But as glaciers retreat because
of global warming, the
temperature between Greenland
and Denmark's capital Copenhagen
is chilling.
The prime minister, múte egede.
Pm egede: As we all live under
the same sun, we all live under
different conditions, but have
all the same goal.
We aim for a future for our
children and future generations.
Malcolm: Danish queen
margrethe's realm includes
Greenland, which relies on an
annual handout from Denmark of
more than 500 million dollars.
But in the draft constitution,
Greenland envisages complete
Independence, and there's no
mention of keeping the Danish
monarch as head of state.
Pm egede: Everyone is welcome to
our beautiful country, if you
respect and listen to us.
When the focus is on Greenland
and the arctic, it must be on
our terms.
You are welcome to have an
opinion, but decisions
concerning Greenland and the
arctic must be made by us.
The indigenous people and people
who have the arctic as their
home.
Malcolm: There are just over
57,000 greenlanders, making
their nation the most sparsely
populated in the world.
Greenland has limited self rule
and there's widespread
resentment at being regarded as
second class citizens by the
Danes.
For many greenlanders divorce
can't come quickly enough.
Michael: I think this is
inevitable.
Malcolm: Veteran diplomat
Michael zilmer-johns used to be
Denmark's ambassador to nato.
Michael: I just hope that we can
find a model where it would not
be like, you know, a hard
Brexit, but we could create a
new community, a new
commonwealth together.
Malcolm: Under the current
arrangement, Denmark is
responsible for Greenland's
defense, foreign affairs and
monetary policy, and it's
reluctant to cede control.
Are you concerned that if
Greenland does break away, that
it may become vulnerable to so
called predator states such as
China and Russia?
Michael: Yes, and this is why I
think it's very important for
Greenland, but also for us and
for the United States that we
find a model where Greenland
will not be just a battlefield
for competing big powers, but
has us as a guarantor and remain
a member of nato and so on.
Malcolm: The United States has
had a strong military presence
since 1943, when the thule air
base was built in north west
Greenland.
For decades, anti-americanism
festered in Greenland, not least
because indigenous people were
forced out of their homes to
accommodate thule.
But attitudes have changed
following Russia's invasion of
Ukraine.
>> I think the most important
effect of the Ukraine war in the
first place has been for all of
the greenlandic political
spectrum to kind of assure that
we are a part of the west.
Malcolm: Ulrik pram gad is a
Greenland expert at the Danish
institute for international
studies.
>> The U.S. Can rest assured
that whatever happens,
Independence or not, Greenland
wants to be a part of nato.
So in that sense, there's been a
shift of positions in
greenlandic politics.
Malcolm: Russia's volatility
means that Greenland's strategic
role in U.S. Defense is perhaps
more important now than during
the cold war.
Catastrophic Russian armored
losses in Ukraine resulted in a
solitary second World War tank
garnishing the annual victory
parade in Moscow.
But Russia's nuclear arsenal
remains as strong as ever and in
the hands of a leader who is
more unpredictable than his
soviet predecessors.
The potential threat from rogue
states is why the us has been
upgrading missile defense
systems at thule in recent
years.
In April, thule was renamed the
pittufik space base in
recognition of Greenland's
contribution to American and
western security.
>> Any missile coming in across,
you know, eurasian vectors will
be passing over to the arctic
region.
And so having a network of
sensors as far north as possible
is vitally important.
Malcolm: Dr. Rebecca Pincus is
director of the polar institute
in Washington and an expert on
arctic geopolitics and security.
>> With the advent of new
generations of intercontinental
missiles and platforms,
including hypersonics, those far
northern locations for early
warning are even more important.
Malcolm: Pincus believes that
Greenland is now entering a new
era in which it can leverage its
increased strategic importance
to extract more financial
support from western nations,
anxious to prevent China or
Russia from exploiting
Greenland's mineral wealth.
>> Too many of the decisions in
the past were not adequately
made with the involvement of
greenlanders.
They did not have enough agency.
That is changing and we will
never go back to the way things
were.
Malcolm: In 2019, president
trump's offer to buy Greenland
was ridiculed.
But ulrik pram gad has a
suggestion.
>> The U.S. Could perhaps buy
Greenland in the sense that if a
lot of American investments
arose, then naturally the
Greenland would orient itself
closer to the U.S.
Malcolm: If Greenland does
secure full Independence, some
experts believe that Denmark's
importance in the world will
diminish.
>> Instead of saying Greenland
needs Denmark and saying, well,
Denmark actually kind of needs
Greenland as well.
We can say, let's just create an
equal society.
If we look at the systematics of
it, that how the democracy is.
Instead of just pointing fingers
at each other.
Malcolm: Politicians like Hoegh
dam would like to see
Independence secured by 2030.
But that target could fall
victim to long and difficult
divorce negotiations.
For the pbs newshour, I'm
Malcolm brabant.
♪♪