Naaja Nathanielsen
Appearances
Consider This from NPR
The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'
Well, I read a social media post the 23rd of December. I actually took it much more serious. And I think also I got this feeling that this is going to be something we're going to be debating for a long time.
Consider This from NPR
The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'
I think it was use of control and ownership, which had rendered a more serious vibe to it, if you will. And also, I think... Since then, I've seen more and more people come out with similar stances and different suggestions, some in form of memes, some in form of just social media posts, some in form of op-eds in serious papers, now latest Senate hearing, right?
Consider This from NPR
The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'
So I think it has degrees of seriousness to it now that it didn't have the last time around.
Consider This from NPR
The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'
Well, first of all, I watched the Senate hearing and I was quite offended by the idea that we are a commodity for sale. People forget that we are actually a people. We are a people in our own right, with our own culture. We don't want to be Americans. It does not mean we don't want to trade with America or have connections to America, but we are not Americans.
Consider This from NPR
The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'
So I think it's offending on many levels and shows a lack of insight. Also in diplomacy, I think, because... I don't believe in this bullying tactic. I don't think that's a way to gain true allies and true partnerships. And I think it's a very short-term way of trying to get your way. History has shown us that is not a way to obtain lasting peace.
Consider This from NPR
The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'
Well, we've been all along saying we have an over 80-year-long relationship with the U.S., and we do recognize we're part of the American interest fair. in terms of national security. And we've been pushing for many years now the idea to have more monitoring of the Arctic, both in submarine and in the air. So we don't oppose that.
Consider This from NPR
The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'
But again, it does not follow from that what we want to be American or that the U.S. needs ownership of Greenland to obtain these goals. It is absolutely possible without the use of force or threats or acquirement.
Consider This from NPR
The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'
I think just rewind like eight months, because we had a good relationship. We had a memorandum of understanding that we wanted to expand on mineral exploration. And we also wanted to discuss further military presence in Greenland in terms of installations that could have dual use. So both benefiting military purposes, but also the people of Greenland.
Consider This from NPR
The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'
We had a good relationship and we were positive towards both American investments and collaboration. And that has been pretty hard hit the last couple of months.
Consider This from NPR
The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'
A lot of people are struggling to remind themselves that America also has good people, that we have friends in America, that America is an ally. Because frankly, the last couple of months have shown an America that is a
Consider This from NPR
The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'
bad ally, that is a bully, that doesn't respect our democracy, that doesn't respect a government, that treat us as a commodity, that seems indifferent to what the Greenlandic people want. And that is both hurtful and frightening because we are a microstate. We are such a small population. We totally rely on a good relationship with a big partner. So for us, it has really...
Consider This from NPR
The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'
damaged, I think, our relationship. And I think it's very sad because we have so much to gain from each other. I think it was an open door. There was absolutely no barriers towards American interest into Greenland just a couple of months ago.