Communist Party of Norway condemns U.S. aggression and threats against Greenland

Video screenshot image from a Hands Off Greenland rally in Copenhagen in January via X

The Communist Party of Norway condemns U.S. aggression and threats against Greenland

Donald Trump’s repeated statements about annexing Greenland are imperialism in its purest form. The claim that taking over the island is necessary for U.S. security has no credibility. Neither Russia nor China threatens Greenland; the threat comes exclusively from the United States.

In this situation, the Communist Party of Norway (NKP) gives its full support to the Greenlanders’ right to self-determination. Only Greenlanders themselves should decide Greenland’s future.

Denmark was granted formal sovereignty over Greenland following the ruling in The Hague in 1933. Until 1953, Greenland was a colony under Denmark. In 1979, Greenlanders obtained a Home Rule Act, which gave the island greater self-government within the Danish Realm. In 2009, the Self-Government Act was adopted. This act establishes Greenland’s right to self-determination and recognizes Greenlanders as a distinct people.

The law provides Greenland with the opportunity for full national independence in the long term.

Through the colonial power Denmark, the United States obtained an agreement in 1951—the Greenland Agreement—which granted the U.S. free access throughout Greenland. At its peak, the U.S. had 27 military bases and 10,000 soldiers stationed on the island. Today, only Pituffik Air Base and 150 American soldiers remain.

The Greenland Agreement, established during the colonial era, is still in force. This means that the United States has full opportunity to increase its military presence in Greenland. Today, everyone can see what a threat to Greenland’s independence this agreement represents.

This underscores the seriousness of the Norwegian government signing the Supplementary Agreement on Defence Cooperation with the United States in 2022—a bilateral agreement between Norway and the U.S. So far, the agreement has given the U.S. access to establish a military presence at 12 Norwegian defence facilities. The agreement states that a separate arrangement may be made granting U.S. forces the right to exclusive access to and use of parts of these areas. In these restricted areas, Norwegian authorities have no access.

In light of Trump’s threats against Greenland, the Communist Party of Norway demands that the government terminate the Supplementary Agreement. American military bases on Norwegian soil are a threat to Norwegian security and sovereignty.

International section Norwegian Communist Party