In Copenhagan on Saturday, placards were held up reading: “Hands Off Greenland” and “Greenland for Greenlanders”.
“It’s very important that we stay together and show that Greenland is not for sale and we would not like to be an American or won’t be annexed by the USA,” Greenlandic politician Erik Jensen told the Reuters news agency.
Saturday’s protests are organised by Greenlandic and Danish NGOs. “We demand respect for the Danish Realm and for Greenland’s right to self-determination,” said Camilla Siezing, heads of Inuit, an umbrella group of Greenlandic associations.
In Nuuk, Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen joined protesters holding signs reading “Greenland is not for sale” and “we shape our future” as they headed for the US consulate.
Opinion polls suggest 85% of Greenlanders oppose the territory joining the US.
Other European countries have rallied to Denmark’s support, arguing that the security of the Arctic region should be a joint Nato responsibility.
France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and the UK have dispatched a small number of troops to Greenland in a so-called reconnaissance mission.
Many in the US have expressed scepticism about acquiring Greenland. Most of the Congressional delegation visiting Denmark are Democrats, but the 11-member team also includes moderate Republicans.
“There are legitimate reasons for us to explore ways to invest better in Arctic security broadly, both in the American Arctic and in our Nato partners,” said Coons.
But the US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, said the life of Greenlanders would be “safer, stronger and more prosperous under the umbrella of the United States”.
He told Fox News that Denmark “just doesn’t have the resources or the capacity to do what needs to be done in the northern region”.