Greenland introduces self-rule

The Associated Press    Translate This Article
26 June 2009

COPENHAGEN (AP) - Greenland expanded its powers of self-rule on its national day on Sunday, in a move many residents see as a step toward independence from Denmark.

The increased autonomy, which includes taking control of the police and the courts and making Greenlandic—an Inuit tongue—the official language, was approved by Greenlanders in a referendum in November.

Denmark still has the final say in defense and foreign-policy matters, and Greenland depends heavily on Danish subsidies, which account for two-thirds of the economy of the sparsely populated Arctic island.

Danish Queen Margrethe and her prime minister, Lars Loekke Rasmussen, attended celebrations in the capital, Nuuk, dressed in Greenlandic national costumes.

'This is a big moment also for me to hand over these self-rule documents to you and therefore to the Greenlandic people,' Queen Margrethe told the Speaker of Greenland's Parliament, Josef Motzfeldt.

Greenland will now keep a greater share of revenue from its natural resources, although much of the oil, gas, gold and diamonds the island holds has been inaccessible because of the Arctic ice that covers most of the land mass.

Greenland's left-leaning premier, Kuupik Kleist, who formed a coalition Cabinet earlier this month, has promised to focus on social problems.

His party, the Inuit Ataqatigiit, won 44 percent of the vote in elections June 2, taking 14 of the 31 seats in the Parliament.

Kleist's party ousted the Social Democratic Siumut party, which had been in power since Greenland gained limited home rule from Denmark in 1979.

'Today is a day of great responsibility,' Loekke Rasmussen said. 'It's up to Greenland to develop.'

Greenland, which has 57,000 inhabitants, became a colony of Denmark in 1775, and was a Danish province from 1953-1979.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



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