Denmark on Monday presented a slew of initiatives aimed at combatting racism and discrimination directed at Greenlandic people in the Scandinavian country, as the massive Arctic territory is eyed by US President Donald trump.
Among the 12 initiatives presented were a right to a Greenlandic passport and improving access to interpreters, and getting help in Greenlandic to report discrimination.
“It is important to the government that Greenlanders can live in Denmark without being met with prejudice, which unfortunately is not the reality today,” Integration Minister Kaare Dybvad Bek said in a statement.
Trump has been talking about a possible deal for years and told reporters on Saturday he believed the US would “get Greenland”, which he has insisted his country needs for “international security”.
The island is strategically located between the US and Europe, as melting ice in the Arctic opens up new shipping routes.
Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. Made a private visit to the autonomous Danish territory in January and later accused Denmark of racism against the Greenlandic people.
“Recent events have clearly shown that racism against Greenlanders exists in certain circles and especially on social media,” Aaja Chemnitz, who represents Greenland in the Danish parliament, was quoted saying in Monday’s statement.
“The action plan against racism is an important tool to speak out and reduce racism. Not only for us Greenlanders, but also for other ethnic groups.”
The Danish government said it would allocate 35 million kroner ($4.9 million) to the new measures.
Last week, the government announced that it was abolishing a controversial parenting competency test that led to Greenlandic parents having their children taken away from them in Denmark.
