“The chance that my fellow Greenlanders might go from one cruel coloniser to another is too brutal to even imagine”
Björk has voiced her support for Greenland’s independence following Donald Trump’s proposition to annex the country, and said that the topic of “colonialism has repeatedly given me horror chills up my back”.
Read More: Björk on the cover: “First you create a universe with sound, then you move into it”
The US President has repeatedly hinted at the prospect of having the island become an annexed part of the United States, and told reporters recently that the country “need[s] Greenland from the standpoint of national security” (as per BBC News).
Citing how its location could be strategic for the US when it comes to defence purposes, the idea has been repeatedly criticised by officials and residents in the Danish territory.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen dismissed Trump’s threat as a “fantasy” and told the president “that’s enough now”. Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also said that Trump has “no right to annex any of the three nations in the Danish kingdom”.
Greenland has been self-governed since the late ’70s and has a population of roughly 57,000 people, although matters of foreign policy and defence are still run by Denmark.
Icelandic music icon Björk has now also hit back at Trump – as well as Denmark – sharing a statement across social media encouraging those in Greenland to keep a tight grip on their independence, especially given Iceland’s past.
“I wish all Greenlanders blessing in their fight for independence,” she began, going on to make reference to her own country’s history. “Icelanders are extremely relieved that they managed to break from the Danish in 1944. We didn’t lose our language (my children would be speaking danish now), and I burst with sympathy for Greenlanders.” (NME report)
