Top Greenland official's brutal move to stop Trump's aggressive purchase plans
Western politicians mostly had their eyes on missiles exploding in Tehran and Tel Aviv Monday. But it was also just after Greenland's National Day, and the Danish government took the occasion to organize a demonstration of a softer kind of power.
The unmistakable message: Greenland isn't something that can be snatched away through dealmaking or force, and people who live there have something to say about their fate.
The embassy put on a display of Greenlandic food and musical performances reflecting the 'cultural richness of Kalaallit Nunaat' – the way indigenous Inuit people refer to Greenland (rough translation: 'land of the people.')
Kim Kielsen, the head of the Greenlandic parliament, flew to DC for the event, addressing notables who gathered at the embassy. Wearing a blue hoodie, he spoke of the local culture, of indigenous shamans who rely on polar bears and walruses – and of the importance of sovereignty.
'Let me repeat: Greenland is not for sale, but we are open for business,' the former policeman – also a hunter and professional fisherman – told a crowd of more than 100 who sweated through the event.
Later, Kielsen flipped through images some of his hunting kills on his cell phone, even retrieving a photo of himself singlehandedly carrying three reindeers he had shot.
The unspoken backdrop for Monday's celebration was President Donald Trump's chilling statement that 'we need Greenland for national security and international security' and 'will go as far as we have to' to get it. Not much has come of his proclamations to date, and Trump toned down talk of another territorial ambition – his desire to make Canada the 51st state – on his trip to Alberta last week.
For members of the diplomatic class who have been poring over Trump's missives about what the US needs from Greenland, Kielsen spoke of lesser known historical traditions, like fashioning a drum from the intestine of a Polar Bear.
'The shamans are not only alone, they are helped by other elements, like animals, like polar bears and walruses,' he told a crowd of diplomats, government officials, and members of the media.
The event also hosted the new representative of Greenland to Washington Jacob Isbosethsen. It came after many of Grenland's 56,000 inhabitants celebrated the longest day of the year with parties and an annual seal hunting competition.
Denmark has answered the pressure by boosting its military presence on Greenland and voting to allow US military bases on Danish soil.
At the embassy, a midcentury modern building near former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton's Washington home, there were video demonstrations of just some of what Greenland has to offer – with images of fish filets being packed for distribution. Unmentioned were Greenland's rare earth minerals, which Trump has called essential for the US to be able to extract.
A band of Greenlandic women from an orphanage in Uummannaq sang songs in their native tongue, joined by a man on electric base and a Danish woman who was teaching them.
'It's a big honor,' musician Karina Moeller told the Daily Mail. 'There's a big movement right now of decolonization. They're very angry at Denmark. But music is a way to expressing your own culture rather than yelling at other people,' she said.
'Greenland has transitioned from being a colony, to home rule, to self rule,' said Denmark's Ambassador to the U.S. Jesper Møller Sørensen. 'And I will submit I am confident that the Kingdom of Denmark will continue to evolve, just as it has in the past,' he said.
'It is a very warm day, there is no doubt about it,' noted Jacob Isbosethsen, saying the heat stacks up to his post in Beijing. His predecessor, Ambassador Kenneth Hoegh, now chairs senior Arctic officials on the Arctic Council with Denmark chairing the group.
Even the embassy's executive Chef Lasse Fredrik Jensen testified to his 'love affair with Greenland.'
'Being in the kitchen all day, this is a cool breeze, so I'm going to take my time,' he quipped as he ran through a menu of delicacies featuring Greenlandic offerings.
He says he first got the Greenland bug when he was sent to a U.S. air base there. Now it has been rechristened Pituffik Space Base.
The chef prepared Greenlandic shrimp in his own take on a Maine-style lobster roll, Greenlandic cod salad, and shredded lamb with Arctic thyme.
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