Yearbook 1998

Greenland continued during the year to work for increased independence towards Denmark. The self-government’s “head of government”, the country’s chairman Jonathan Motzfeldt, explained that Greenland  should have greater influence over foreign policy and more direct contact with the heads of other countries.

An old Greenlandic requirement was met in July when self-government took over the management of the island’s mineral deposits. High hopes are linked to gold exploration going on in the south and gas and oil wells that started in the sea west of Greenland. In 1999, the decisive obstacle to Greenland’s liberation is the weak economy, and Greenland  is dependent on Denmark’s annual contribution of SEK 2.6 billion. SEK, almost SEK 50,000. per inhabitant.

Infrastructure

• Abbreviationfinder: What does GRL stand for in geography? Here, this 3 letter acronym refers to the country of Greenland.

In principle, you can only get to Greenland by air. All freight transport takes place from Aalborg with container ships.

Passenger transport internally in Greenland takes place either per. ship, aircraft or helicopter. However, the establishment of several runways over recent years has reduced the need for expensive helicopter transport.

Tele Greenland has a monopoly on telecommunications traffic in Greenland. They offer all modern facilities such as telephony, mobile telephony, telex, ISDN and satellite communication.

Electricity, water and heat are supplied through the home-controlled supply company Nukissiorfiit.

Thule

During World War II, the United States set up bases in Kangerlussuaq (Søndre Strømfjord) and Narsarsuaq for transport of aircraft from the United States to Europe. After the war, the airport in Kangerlussuaq was maintained as a military base for, among other things. supply of the DYE stations on the inland ice until 1991, when the collapse of Eastern Europe and technological developments made the base superfluous.

However, in 1951, the United States and the Danish government had already agreed in 1951 to build a military base at Thule with a radar system that was part of the North American warning system vis-à-vis the then Soviet Union.

Forced Relocation

The construction of the base in 1953 led to a forced relocation of the Thule Eskimos Inughuit to the new settlement Qaanaaq. Over the years since then, there has been much debate, commission of inquiry and political activity in Greenland as well as in Denmark regarding this forced relocation.

A few years ago, the people of Qaanaaq formed the association Hingitaq ’53, which brought an action against the Danish state. The case was settled in the Eastern High Court in 1999 with a ruling that it was a forced relocation and a minor financial compensation to the Thule community and the people directly affected by the forced relocation.

However, Hingitaq ’53 has appealed the verdict, partly because it is dissatisfied that the verdict does not uphold the people’s right to the hunting areas and dissatisfaction with the amount of compensation.