“The politicians have not been very clear about what independence really is,” Masaana Egede, the editor-in-chief of the Greenlandic daily Sermitsiaq, told a video briefing with international journalists last week, responding to a question by POLITICO.
“Is it economic independence? A feeling of independence? Having our own borders?" Egede said. "We're talking this much about it because it stirs emotions in us. We want independence, but we all have very different definitions of what independence is,” he said.
Egede — who is the half-brother of Prime Minister Múte Egede — said there are 32 areas where Denmark still makes decisions on Greenland's behalf. “Say we'd take over one per year, it would still take us 32 years to become really independent,” he said.
Currently, the party with the most seats in the Inatsisartut is Inuit Ataqatigiit, or “Community of the People,” together with its coalition partner Siumut, or “Forward.” Both parties are pro-independence and have vowed to call a referendum on the island’s separation from Denmark, without specifying when that vote will be.
Under a 2009 agreement with Denmark, Greenland can legally declare independence — but only after a referendum has taken place. While there is widespread support for full sovereignty in Greenland, some are unsure what it would mean for the island’s defense and economy if it were to strike out on its own.
'One way or the other'
Greenland's 2-million-plus square kilometers are replete with vast, untapped natural resources, including highly coveted rare earths; yet it has a population of less than 60,000.