Denmark summons US diplomat over alleged Greenland affect marketing campaign

Denmark has summoned the US cost d’affaires for an pressing assembly over an alleged affect marketing campaign in Greenland geared toward shaping public opinion and the way forward for the Arctic territory.

It comes after experiences from Danish media, confirmed by the Danish overseas workplace, that at the very least three US males with ties to Donald Trump and the White Home had been accused of attempting to infiltrate Greenlandic society.

Their exercise – which, in response to the broadcaster DR, contains compiling lists of Trump-supporting Greenlandic residents – is being carefully watched by the Danish authorities, which is known to concentrate on “foreign agents and actors” attempting to form public opinion in Greenland.

The Danish overseas minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, denounced the alleged scheme on Wednesday, saying it was “totally unacceptable”. He mentioned: “It is important that we gain insight into this so that our populations – this applies to both Greenland and Denmark – can see what it is we are up against.”

Rasmussen mentioned officers would make it “very clear to the US” {that a} overseas affect marketing campaign in Greenland with Washington’s backing could be opposite to all worldwide guidelines.

Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, mentioned she was taking the claims “very seriously”. “Any interference in internal affairs in the kingdom of Denmark, and Greenlandic democracy, is unacceptable,” she mentioned. “I note that the Americans do not clearly deny that the situation is as DR presents today. And that is of course serious.”

Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to accumulate Greenland since taking workplace, driving tensions between Denmark and the US to unprecedented ranges. The previous Danish colony is a part of the dominion of Denmark, though it’s now autonomous except its overseas and safety coverage, which stays managed by Copenhagen.

In an uncommon transfer geared toward highlighting the gravity of the state of affairs, Denmark’s highest-ranking civil servant will attend the assembly.

The cost d’affaires was summoned within the absence of Trump’s incoming US ambassador, Ken Howery, who’s but to be confirmed by the US Senate. A date for his arrival in Copenhagen is but to be confirmed however Howery, a co-founder of PayPal, a pal of Elon Musk and the ambassador to Sweden underneath Trump’s first administration, is predicted within the Danish capital in October.

In response to DR, the three unnamed American males are accused of trying to permeate Greenlandic society to weaken relations with Denmark by means of what it described as “infiltration” and “influence operations”.

One in every of them, who it’s claimed compiled a listing of Trump supporters, has reportedly appeared in public with Trump quite a few occasions. He’s additionally accused of making a listing of those that don’t assist the US president and of advising on points that “put Denmark in a bad light” within the US media. These allegedly embrace the pressured removals of Greenlandic kids by Danish authorities and a separate scandal over the pressured contraception of Greenlandic girls, for which Frederiksen issued a long-awaited apology on Wednesday.

The 2 different American males whose actions have reportedly precipitated Danish authorities concern beforehand labored underneath Trump and are identified to journey regularly to Greenland from the US.

A authorities supply mentioned that with the inhabitants of the capital, Nuuk, being about 20,000 individuals, “it’s pretty obvious who is walking around and doing this”.

Quite a lot of high-profile Individuals with political connections and enterprise individuals have flocked to Nuuk since Trump’s election.

In January, Donald Trump Jr was joined by the political activist Charlie Kirk, who cofounded the pro-Trump conservative organisation Turning Level USA. In March, earlier than Greenland’s election, Drew Horn, a member of the primary Trump administration and the chief govt of the Washington DC-based mineral funding firm GreenMet, mentioned there have been “tens of billions” of {dollars} able to be invested in Greenland instantly. Tom Dans, Trump’s former Arctic commissioner and an investor, described Greenland as “really frontier in the true sense of things”. Not one of the males have been implicated by Danish authorities.

Greenland’s overseas minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, mentioned she didn’t know of any “shady activities” happening in Greenland. She advised newspaper Sermitsiaq: “There is nothing new in what I have been presented with, beyond what we already know.”

Aaja Chemnitz, a member of the Danish parliament for the Greenlandic occasion Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA), mentioned the most recent experiences mirrored a US effort. “We have seen before that they have been trying to influence the people of Greenland, but of course also Greenlandic politicians. This is just a continuation of that.”

However she mentioned she had not seen proof of an impression on individuals’s views. “I don’t think it is working. The Greenlandic people have been an object for people trying to influence us over many many years.”

She mentioned life for the Greenlandic individuals continued to be worse than for Danish individuals dwelling within the Danish kingdom, particularly on account of underinvestment and the historic injustices in opposition to Inuit individuals.

Though she mentioned the US remained “on the table” when it got here to funding in Greenland, the impression of Trump’s phrases about buying Greenland – by pressure if required – had had an impression. Greenland, she mentioned, was “much more sceptical towards the US than before”.

Pele Broberg, who leads Greenland’s opposition occasion, Naleraq, which is seen as essentially the most Trump-friendly of Greenland’s political events, mentioned he was baffled by the diplomatic conflict, saying the claims have been based mostly on beforehand reported occasions from January.

“Should we never talk to anybody but Denmark? We don’t get what the big issue is right now,” he mentioned.

He denied claims that the White Home was attempting to affect opinions in Nuuk, including: “But what I do know is that the Danish, French and German governments are trying to influence the Greenlandic government every single day … It’s just business as usual.”

That is the second time Denmark has summoned the US cost d’affaires since Trump assumed workplace. The primary such assembly, in Might, was over experiences that US intelligence businesses had been ordered to extend espionage in Greenland.

The US Division of State didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

A consultant of the US authorities mentioned in a press release to DR: “Individual US citizens may have interests in Greenland. The US government does not control or direct the actions of private citizens.”

They mentioned the US “values the relationships with the governments of Greenland and Denmark,” including: “The president, vice-president and secretary of state have all been clear: the United States respects the right of the Greenlandic people to determine their own future.”

Talking on behalf of Horn, Sabrina Katz, vice-president of operations and Arctic lead at GreenMet, mentioned: “Drew is no longer affiliated with the Trump administration and is now fully focused on private sector work. Our efforts in Greenland are solely driven by commercialisation objectives and are not connected to any government role or agenda.”