The Prime Minister of Greenland Criticizes American Offering Money for Annexation Petition Signature
The Greenlandic Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, announced on Thursday, May 7 the actions of an American who is offering a large sum of money in exchange for signing a petition supporting the annexation of the island to the United States. Police have confirmed receiving reports on the matter.
It is reported that he offered $200,000 to signatories. Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen criticized on May 7 the actions of an unidentified American who allegedly offered a large sum of money to Greenlanders to sign a petition in favor of the annexation of this autonomous Danish territory to the United States.
“A stranger is offering money for a signature to annex Greenland to another country. This is not only deeply concerning. It is indecent,” Jens-Frederik Nielsen expressed on Facebook.
The Greenlandic television channel KNR reported on the same day that a “mysterious American,” who introduced himself as “Cliff,” offered a taxi driver in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, $200,000 to sign the petition. The taxi driver, Danny Brandt, stated to the channel that he declined this offer.
Danny Brandt shared this incident on social media, and in the comments, a user also mentioned being offered money to sign the petition. The taxi driver reported the incident to the police.
The Greenlandic police mentioned to AFP that they “received reports that may be linked to the current political situation.” They did not specify the number of reports received or their content.
“We are a democratic society. Our future is not negotiated in a taxi. And it is not bought with money,” emphasized the Prime Minister.
American President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that the United States should annex the Danish autonomous territory for national security. In January, he reversed course after weeks of aggressive rhetoric and announced reaching a framework agreement, with unclear details, on Greenland with the Secretary-General of NATO. Denmark and Greenland are in talks with Washington regarding the future of the Arctic island.
