Greenlanders reject Trump's new attempt to take control of the island
NUUK, Jul 8 (Reuters) - Greenlanders taking part in a traditional kayaking championship in Nuuk on Wednesday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's renewed call for the United States to take control of the Arctic island, saying its future should be decided by the Greenlanders themselves.
In a speech during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump this week renewed his demand to gain control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, arguing that it was important to US national security.
At the kayaking championship in Nuuk Harbor, where competitors performed flipping maneuvers in the water, turning their kayaks upside down and back to normal, spectators said Trump was focused on the island's natural resources rather than the desires of its people.
"All he thinks about is commodities and oil," said Frederik Larsen, 72, a Greenland-born retiree. "I think we can manage without him."
Public school teacher Birgithe Geisler, 60, said that Greenland belonged to the Greenlanders.
"No one else should decide for us," she said.
Hans David Ezekiassen, instructor at the Greenland Maritime Center, was more direct.
"I think it's shit, to say the least," he said. "He can't even control his own country, so why does he have to try to dominate other countries?"
Andy Thon, 49, an American engineer and member of Qajaq USA who participates in the championship and is visiting, said that Greenland is already on the path towards greater autonomy from Denmark.
"Together with Denmark, they are moving towards full autonomy, and the US would not need Greenland as a strategic point if it were acting in good faith with our allies," he said.
Trump's statements generated new negative reactions from Danish and Greenlandic leaders. Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Wednesday that repeated calls to seize the island did not change the fact that Greenland is not for sale.
(Reporting by Tim Barsoe in Nuuk)
Source: Antena 1