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February 2, 2001

Greenland provokes diplomatic tiff with Denmark

JANE GEORGE
Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT — Correspondence between Jonathan Motzfeldt, premier of Greenland’s home rule government, and the newly-elected U.S. president, George W. Bush, has provoked a diplomatic war of words between Denmark and Greenland.

It’s also renewed debate over the Americans’ controversial National Missile Defense system. The U.S. wants to install an NMD facility at the Thule airbase in northern Greenland.

On Dec. 14 Motzfeldt wrote Bush a letter on home rule government stationery, offering his "sincere congratulations" on the confirmation of Bush’s election as U.S. president.

"It is of the utmost importance for Greenland to maintain and develop the positive dialogue on issues of common interest, i.e. the presence of the armed forces on Thule Air Base, on environmental issues and on trade issues," Motzfeldt wrote.

Last week Bush’s answer arrived in Greenland.

"Like you, I am eager to work together on issues of mutual concern, like the base at Thule," Bush wrote.

But the mention of the airbase at Thule, by Motzfeldt, and again, by Bush, has provoked a furor in Danish diplomatic circles.

That’s because, under the terms of its relationship with Denmark, the Greenland home rule government is not supposed to have any official jurisdiction over dealings with foreign governments.

"It caused a great fuss," said Aqqaluk Lynge, a former politician who is now president of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference. "Both the politicians and public in Denmark have attacked Bush and the premier for going around diplomacy."

At the center of the controversy is Bush’s intention to move forward with the National Missile Defense system.

Dubbed the "son of Star Wars", this system is supposed to defend the U.S. from nuclear missile attacks from so-called "rogue" countries such as North Korea and Iran.

During his electoral campaign, Bush said he plans to move ahead with the NMD and make missile defense a top priority, even if it means scrapping the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty with the former Soviet Union, which prohibits the creation of such a system.

Last week, Bush repeated his intention to go ahead with plans to build the NDM.

"The President has not been ambivalent about this, said U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield. "He intends to deploy a missile-defense capability for the country."

The proposed NMD system would set up a defensive screen to track and destroy incoming ballistic missiles headed into U.S. airspace. To this end, Washington has proposed setting up radar installations in the United Kingdom, Alaska and Greenland that would, with satellites, provide an early warning system.

While U.S. officials say the NMD is meant for defensive purposes only, Lynge and other critics maintain it could lead a whole new era of building bigger weapons capable of penetrating better defense systems.

They worry the NMD could also provoke Russia, China, and other countries into bolsting their nuclear arsenals.

The ICC, which represents 152,000 Inuit in Greenland, Canada, Alaska and Russia, have already expressed its opposition over the U.S. plan to put its NMD system radar on the Thule airbase.

The ICC and the Greenland home rule government have called for an environmental review and a social impact assessment on the NMD. They’ve also demanded the Danish and U.S. governments to keep Greenlanders informed and to include Greenland in all talks about the NMD.

"Greenland wants to sit at the table," Lynge said.

The home rule government has even suggested Russia should join in discussions.

But despite the increasingly fierce controversy over the NMD system, Lynge said he still views Motzfeldt’s letter as simply a contratulatory gesture to the new U.S. president.

"The funny part is, after the president’s transition office sent the letter from Bush thanking him for his letter, then suddenly here there was a missile crisis between Denmark and Greenland," Lynge said.

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