Avant-garde Icelandic singer Björk has urged the people of Greenland to declare independence from the Kingdom of Denmark but warned of potential future “colonizers”, as U.S. President Donald J. Trump doubled down on his demands that the North American island come under the control of Washington for national security purposes.
Following the extraordinary military operation that saw the overthrow and removal of Venezuelan socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro on Saturday by American Special Forces, renewed focus has been placed on the status of Greenland, which President Trump has suggested that the United States would not rule out using military force to acquire from its current owners in Copenhagen and fullfil a desire of presidents dating back to the 19th century.
Apparently panicked by the willingness of the U.S. President to use unorthodox methods to achieve his foreign policy objectives, Danish PM Mette Friedrickson insisted on Sunday that America has “no right to annex” Greenland. In turn, President Trump said that the United States “absolutely” needs to take control of Greenland, saying: “We need it for defence.”
Wading into the diplomatic spat, Reykjavík-born Nordic electronica singer Björk called on the people of Greenland to seek independence from Denmark as her homeland of Iceland did during World War II.
“I wish all Greenlanders blessing in their fight for independence. Icelanders are extremely relieved that they managed to break from the Danish in 1944,” the 60-year-old singer wrote on X.
While not of Inuit heritage, Björk cited the previous mistreatment of the native population of Greenland by the Danish government, including the recently exposed scandal, which revealed that thousands of Greenlandic girls were fitted with the contraceptive coils without informing them or receiving consent between 1966 and 1991, when Greenland took over control of its healthcare system from the Danes. In September, Prime Minister Friedrickson issued an official apology to Greenland over the scandal in a bid to restore “mutual trust”.
However, Björk noted that such scandals involving the Danish state have continued despite granting Greenland domestic control in 1979, pointing to recent outrage over the removal of children from their parents in Greenland by Danish authorities in so-called “parenting competency” tests.
Yet, despite this, the Icelandic singer appeared to suggest that Greenland may suffer even more if the United States acquired control of the island.
“Colonialism has repeatedly given me horror chills up my back, and the chance that my fellow Greenlanders might go from one cruel coloniser to another is too brutal to even imagine,” she wrote.
Björk has long advocated for Greenland to free itself completely from Danish rule, including in her 2007 song “Declare Independence”, which advocated for Greenland and the Faroe Islands to declare independence from Denmark.
While former Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede had backed independence for the self-governing territory of around 57,000 residents from Denmark and expressed willingness for greater alignment with the United States on defence and mineral extraction, his government was replaced last April by social democrat Jens-Frederik Nielsen, whose Demokraatit party has been traditionally sceptical of independence from Denmark.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer spoke out on Monday against Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland, saying: “Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark are to decide the future of Greenland, and only Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark. Denmark is a close ally in Europe, it is a NATO ally, and it’s very important the future of Greenland is, as I say, for the Kingdom of Denmark, and for Greenland, and only for Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark.”
Going further, leading French Member of European Parliament Raphaël Glucksmann urged the EU to take a “strong initiative” and push back against Trump. The left-wing MEP suggested that Brussels build a “permanent European military base” in Greenland, arguing that it would “send a signal of firmness towards Trump and would allow us to kill the American argument about our inability to ensure Greenland’s security.”
“Bowing and scraping will not suffice. Our diplomats will know how to present the initiative as a response to the concerns expressed by the US.But it would be proof that the Europeans will not relinquish any part of their sovereignty. Doing nothing, waiting for the storm to pass, that won’t work. Not with Trump,” Glucksmann said.
On Sunday, President Trump mocked the state of Danish security on the island, quipping: “You know what Denmark did recently to boost up security on Greenland? They added one more dog sled… It’s true. They thought that was a great move.”
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