[Source: Reuters]
Greenlanders attending a traditional kayaking championship in Nuuk rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed call for U.S. control of the Arctic island on Wednesday, saying its future should be decided by Greenlanders themselves.
Speaking at a NATO summit in Turkey’s Ankara, Trump this week renewed his demand to gain control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, arguing it was important for U.S. national security.
At the kayaking championships in Nuuk harbour, where competitors performed rolling manoeuvres in the water by flipping their kayaks upside down and back upright, spectators said Trump was focused on the island’s natural resources rather than the wishes of its people.
“He only thinks of commodities and oil,” said Frederik Larsen, 72, a pensioner born in Greenland. “I think we can manage without him.”
Public school teacher Birgithe Geisler, 60, said Greenland belonged to Greenlanders.
“No one else should decide for us,” she said.
Hans David Ezekiassen, an instructor at the Greenland Maritime Center, was more blunt.
