(ZENIT News – Asia News / Islamabad, 23.02.2025).- In an interview with Conventual Franciscan Father Tomaž Majcen, parish priest of Christ the King church in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, answered questions about the natives’ feelings in relation to the interest Donald Trump has expressed about annexing the big Island to the United States. “We are not for sale and never will be. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” said Father Majcen, who is Slovenian.
The priest acknowledged that Greenland has great strategic importance for the United States’ security, as it is the shortest route between North America and Europe, giving advantage to the American Army for the dominion of the region, although it already has a military base in Tule, north of the Island. Moreover, Greenland is close to Russia, and would bring the American Army closer to its enemy, while placing a wide barrier between both countries.
Norway and Denmark submitted a domain dispute to the Permanent Court of International Justice in 1933, which determined Denmark’s dominion over the Island. After the occupation of Denmark by the German Forces at the beginning of World War II, the United States occupied the Island from April 8, 1941 to 1945. In 1953 Greenland remained part of the Kingdom of Denmark on equal terms. Denmark’s entrance in the European Common Market in 1972, which later became the European Union, gave Greenland an Autonomous status in 1979.
Greenland is very rich in minerals, with rare earths used in battery manufacturing and high technology, as well as petroleum and minerals considered as “critical prime matter” by the European Commission. Trump wants to control the riches of Greenland’s subsoil, said Father Majcen, as another interest of the American President.
Four fifths of Greenland are covered by permanent ice. Only a small part of the Island is habitable. Its people number 57,000, a third of whom live in Nuuk, the capital. Its inhabitants reacted to Trump’s statements underscoring their independence. Greenland’s Prime Minister, Műte B. Egede, said the Island is not for sale. “Greenland is ours.”
Father Majcen explained that “Christians were not too bothered by Trump’s statement or, at least, it’s the sensation I had. The people I’ve talked to about the subject are not too worried, but they say that, while the Danish Government is with them, Greenlanders will be happy and peaceful.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders,” and her Minister of Foreign Relations, Lars Lokke Rasmussen said that the Island does not want to be a State of the American Union. Meanwhile, the Danish Government announced the increase in defense spending in favor of Greenland.
Given the possible problems and risks for the Island’s communities, Father Majcen added that the local Authorities seek “sustainable development and self-sufficiency, reducing the dependence on fishing through the development of sustainable industries, such as tourism and renewable energy, adaptation to climate change, building infrastructure that can resist the impact of climate change.”
They also endeavor to care for “the use of the language and traditional practices of Greenland, to preserve the cultural patrimony, investing at the same time in modern knowledge and education, the desire for independence and political autonomy, thus advancing toward greater political autonomy or total independence from Denmark.”
Given the United States’ expansionist attempts, Father Majcen said: ”I hope this story will soon be forgotten. But in any case, Greenlanders will fight for their frozen paradise under the sun.” He acknowledged that the resources of Greenland’s territory can be tempting. What can we say about the fact that the Island can be the crossroads of new routes, including commercial ones, through its Arctic regions?”
