Independencia de Groenlandia - The Economist

DIVORCE UP NORTH?
Nov 27th 2008

Greenland creeps towards independence

THIS week's referendum in Greenland marks a milestone in the protracted
divorce proceedings between the world's largest island and Denmark, one
of its smallest colonial powers. Over 75% of Greenlanders voted to give
themselves the right to loosen ties with Denmark by slowly taking
control of such areas as security, justice and police affairs. The vote
also promises Greenland (population: 56,000) a bigger slice of future
profits from minerals, including oil, rubies, gold and diamonds.

For most Greenlanders, the referendum was as replete with a sense of
the righting of historic wrongs as Barack Obama's election in America.
"I'm extremely moved, because now, like other peoples, we will be
recognised as a nation," said Hans Enoksen, the premier. Yet although
Mr Enoksen wept tears of joy in Nuuk, Greenland's capital, it is
premature to assume that full Inuit independence will come quickly.

Denmark has ruled Greenland since the 18th century. It conceded limited
home rule only in 1979 (Greenland chose to leave the then European
Community in 1985). The Danes have conceded that Greenland has a right
to divorce. But independence may be a dream that the Greenlanders
cannot afford. The population is tiny and the problems vast. The main
export is fish and a DKr3.4 billion ($590m) annual grant from Denmark
pays for public services like education and health care.

Even with the grant, the difference in living standards between
Greenland and Denmark is stark. Education is bad, nutrition is poor and
problems like alcoholism and child abuse abound. To tackle these
problems, Greenlanders would need a bigger source of income than the
Danish subsidy, which would presumably be phased out. In theory, this
could come from minerals, but exploiting these requires big investment
that it might be hard to finance now. Greenland's west coast may hold
more oil than the North Sea, but harsh conditions could push the cost
of extraction as high as $50 a barrel.

"Expectations have been unrealistic," says Jens Frederiksen, leader of
the Democrats, the only political party in Greenland to oppose this
week's vote. Soren Espersen, a member of parliament for the Danish
People's Party, is blunter: "Greenlanders have been brainwashed by
unprecedented propaganda."