Large crowds expected for ‘Hands off Greenland’ protests

COPENHAGEN: Large demonstrations are planned across Denmark and Greenland on Saturday (Jan 17) to protest against United States President Donald Trump’s designs to take over the Arctic island.

Thousands of people have indicated on social media that they intend to take part in marches and rallies organised by Greenlandic associations in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg, Odense and the Greenlandic capital Nuuk.

“The aim is to send a clear and unified message of respect for Greenland’s democracy and fundamental human rights,” Uagut, an association of Greenlanders in Denmark, said on its website.

The protests follow Trump’s warning on Friday that he “may put a tariff” on countries that oppose his plans to take over Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.

The demonstration in Nuuk is scheduled to begin at 4pm (11pm, Singapore time) to protest “against the United States’ illegal plans to take control of Greenland”, organisers said. Demonstrators would march to the US consulate carrying Greenlandic flags.

The Copenhagen rally is due to begin at 12pm (7pm, Singapore time) and make a stop outside the US embassy in the Danish capital around an hour later.

“Recent events have put Greenland and Greenlanders in both Greenland and Denmark under pressure,” Uagut chairwoman Julie Rademacher said in a statement sent to AFP, calling for “unity”.

“When tensions rise and people go into a state of alarm, we risk creating more problems than solutions for ourselves and for each other. We appeal to Greenlanders in both Greenland and Denmark to stand together,” she said.

DEMAND RESPECT

The protests come as a bipartisan delegation of US Congress members visited Copenhagen on a two-day trip to give backing to Denmark and Greenland, saying the US president’s territorial ambitions were not shared by the American people.

Europeans have also been showing support for Greenland in a military reconnaissance mission that a Danish general said Washington was invited to.

Senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller told Fox News on Friday that “positive early talks” had taken place at a White House meeting between senior officials from the US, Denmark and Greenland this week.

But he reiterated that Trump had been “clear” that he wanted the US to control the island.

“They want us to spend hundreds of billions of dollars defending a territory for them that is 25 per cent bigger than Alaska at 100 per cent American expense, but they say while we do this, it belongs 100 per cent to Denmark,” Miller said.

Uagut, along with the citizens’ movement “Hands off Greenland”, and Inuit – an umbrella group of Greenlandic associations – were staging the demonstrations to coincide with a visit to Copenhagen by a bipartisan delegation of US lawmakers.

On the event’s Facebook page, at least 900 people in Greenland said they planned to take part in the territory, which has a total population of about 57,000.

“With this demonstration, we want to show that we are taking action, that we stand together and that we support our politicians, diplomats and partners,” Kristian Johansen, one of the organisers, said in a statement.

“We demand respect for our country’s right to self-determination and for us as a people,” added Avijaja Rosing-Olsen, another organiser.

“We demand respect for international law and international legal principles. This is not only our struggle, it is a struggle that concerns the entire world.”

According to the latest poll published in January 2025, 85 per cent of Greenlanders oppose the territory joining the US. Only six per cent were in favour.