– President Trump has deep respect and concern for the Greenlanders, and they are in a special position when the world's most powerful man and the world's richest and most powerful country want to help them.
This is what American businessman Tom Dans said to the Norwegian media NRK on Monday in connection with the Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromsø, Norway.
Tom Dans is believed to be one of the main players behind the American interest in Greenland, and he was appointed by Donald Trump in December as chairman of the United States Arctic Research Commission (USARC).
Dans further tells NRK that people in Greenland just "need more time to understand that they would be better off as part of the United States."
Said no
The American's stance is met with opposition from member of parliament Aaja Chemnitz (IA), who is also at the conference in Norway. Here she met Tom Dans on Tuesday in connection with the fact that they both appeared in a news broadcast on NRK.
- In connection with a TV interview, I had the opportunity to meet Tom Dans very briefly. I make it very clear that Greenland is not for sale, but he indicated that the USA is still interested in buying Greenland. I made that clear to him, says Aaja Chemnitz.
She believes that Tom Dans is acting manipulatively because, according to the politician, he highlights some challenges for Greenlanders without elaborating on how the United States will solve them.
- Ends up being patronizing
- For me, it is very clear that facts are being used in a manipulative way to portray a picture of challenges, says Aaja Chemnitz about her meeting with Dans and continues:
- You use selected facts to tell your own story. You end up being condescending towards Greenlanders in both Denmark and Greenland. It's a shameful way to try to have cooperation.
Question: Do you see any indications that the Americans would be able to solve the problems if Greenland became part of the United States?
- No, the easiest thing is to point out the challenges. You also have to come up with solutions, and you can look at the American healthcare system and see if it is functioning well. Many of us can agree that we have challenges in Greenland, but we are also looking at solutions together with Denmark in relation to better financing of, among other things, the healthcare system, says Aaja Chemnitz.
