Photo: DR

The long struggle to protect the Arctic and Inuit peoples from war and militarisation is facing a fundamental crisis. The threat of an arms race at the top of the world and a new unbridled hunt for the population’s natural resources threatens not only the existence of Greenlanders, but also that of the entire world. The greatest guarantee of peace and the only management of the Arctic rests with the organisations and representative bodies of indigenous peoples, including the Greenlandic parliament, the Inatsisarsut, and the Inuit Circumpolar Council.

Trump bluntly states what “polite” Danish imperialism has tried to hide: in the logic of capitalism, countries, persons and peoples are, at best, commodities – at worst spoils of war. For the same reason, Trump’s demand to renegotiate the nearly 200-year-old alliance between the Danish and American bourgeoisies has plunged Denmark into genuine colonial hysteria.

The height of this hysteria is, of course, the censorship of documentation on cryolite mining in Denmark, which was removed from the internet following obvious political pressure involving the highest levels of government. This censorship was deeply biased, and with the removal of source material, it is now difficult if not impossible for many citizens to navigate a crucial social debate.

The Importance of Cryolite

The bourgeois panic in Denmark must be viewed in light of the enormous wealth that Danish capitalists managed to plunder from Greenland through cryolite extraction. Although the Danish state charged Danish capitalists for allowing them to steal Greenland’s minerals, Weber’s heirs [Theobald Weber, founder of the Øresund cryolite factory, Ed.] each received a return of no less than 40% of the million they had received upon their father’s death. These revenues did not come from normal business operations, but solely from monopolies and colonial rents. The reinvestment of these revenues helped build the Denmark we know today. C.F. Tietgen, the godfather of the modern Danish capitalist class, was behind the construction of the Ivittuut mine. Cryolite extraction must therefore be considered a decisive element of the primitive accumulation that enabled the transformation of Denmark into an industrial society.

Cryolite extraction must therefore be considered a decisive element of the primitive accumulation that enabled the transformation of Denmark into an industrial society

Without cryolite, aluminium would probably never have become a widely used metal, and its extended capabilities would not have benefited humanity. Denmark and the United States shared the profits from cryolite exploitation more or less equally. For the United States, it enabled the rapid development of the air force which, since the Second World War, has ensured them decisive influence over the world market. The wealth and value derived from this fate cannot be measured in figures. The value of a unique place in the world where these rare minerals lay freely on the ground and were used by the local population for tanning hides is lost in questions of historical ethics. Like other colonised peoples, the Inuit of Greenland are left with a hole in the ground where the foundations for centuries of development of their own society and economy could have been laid.

Colonialism in the United States and Denmark

Trump’s brazen demand to control Greenland is merely the continuation of the colonial, imperial and racist thinking that has defined Danish and American policy towards Greenland. After a long and arduous political struggle, the Greenlandic people obtained the legal and formal rights to independence.

But American imperialism harbours the greatest distrust of state formation by indigenous peoples. That is why, even under Democratic leadership, they have deliberately sought to gain influence within the Greenlandic elite and bind them to the United States.

American imperialism harbours the greatest distrust of state formation by indigenous peoples. That is why, even under Democratic leadership, they have deliberately sought to gain influence within the Greenlandic elite and bind them to the United States

The mere fact that this exploitation has been revealed has created colonial hysteria in Denmark, where colonial racism against our Greenlandic fellow citizens has run rampant – for example, with the idea that Greenland’s independence should have consequences for Greenlanders in Denmark. The notion that decisions regarding Greenland’s status could have any impact on Greenlanders living in Denmark who are part of Danish society must be categorically rejected. It is also highly criticisable that the Danish government, which has otherwise defended the Greenlandic slogan “Nothing about Greenland without Greenland”, has simultaneously toured Europe WITHOUT Greenland to gather support for the defence of the “Kingdom”! The Greenlandic government is perfectly capable of negotiating security – it already does so when negotiating concessions and trade exchanges.

The Danish working class and left have a special responsibility towards the Greenlandic people. It is unfortunately true that a large part of the Danish labour movement has shown great complacency towards the Greenlandic people. With few exceptions, too many of us have believed that it was sufficient to “leave the issue to the Greenlanders” and thus, in practice, avoid having to deal with the complex historical and contemporary issues affecting Greenland. This must be remedied.

A large part of the Danish labour movement has believed that it was sufficient to “leave the issue to the Greenlanders” and thus, in practice, avoid having to deal with the complex historical and contemporary issues affecting Greenland

Firstly, by participating in organising debates on Greenland’s history and current situation and inviting Greenlandic activists and residents of Denmark to share their understanding and perspectives, not only in Greenland, but throughout Danish society. We can do this in all circles in which we are active. At the same time, we want teaching about Greenland’s history and Danish colonialism to be integrated into school curricula. No child should see the marble church without knowing that, when it was completed, it was also called the aluminium mine.

Meanwhile, it is necessary to learn more about post-colonial conflicts and the blind spots faced by the coloniser population, particularly the working class. A monstrous example of this is when “economic experts” are allowed to thunder, practically without opposition, against the focus on the total value of a raw material (cryolite) to measure what the colonial power took from the colonised country.

Even though colonialism researchers emphasise the relevance of this figure, when almost all of this value is transferred from Greenland’s GDP to Denmark’s. This also involves focusing on the issue of reproductive rights and the Danish state’s active efforts to prevent the birth of half a generation of Greenlandic children.

Demands That Can Support Greenlanders’ Struggle for Independence

While fully supporting Greenland’s desire for independence and understanding that Greenlanders do not believe in the possibility of equal treatment, we want to maintain the best possible relations with the Greenlandic people. We are bound not only by history, but also by family and friendship ties. However, this desire only makes sense if Greenland is supported in gaining complete control over its own territory, and we must demand that no economic coercion be used to pressure the Greenlandic people’s political choices. At the same time, we demand that travel between Denmark and Greenland be made affordable for all those who have family in Greenland.

We will ensure that Greenland’s independence does not push Greenland to grant destructive concessions or yield to any form of military pressure. At the same time, we reject any process that does not aim to involve the entire Greenlandic people, but focuses on small elites.

That is why we also demand that Greenland have full and unhindered access to all studies of the Greenlandic subsoil and that all military agreements concerning the Arctic be presented to the Arctic population.

We also demand that Greenland have full and unhindered access to all studies of the Greenlandic subsoil and that all military agreements concerning the Arctic be presented to the Arctic population

When the Danish state and the Danish bourgeoisie continue to claim that it has been difficult to make money from the plunder of the Arctic, we demand that all accounts be presented, including share dividend payments.

Developing an appropriate programme for relations between Greenland and Denmark, as a former colonial power, requires Greenland’s full participation and independence. We therefore look forward to the contribution of the Danish left wing to Inuit Ataqatigiit and wish them a successful election. For a free and demilitarised Arctic!

Executive Committee, SAP (Socialistisk Arbejderpolitik), 23 February 2025