Greenlandic MP refuses to speak Danish in parliament

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News Websites
13 May 2023 07:30
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Aki-Matilda Hegh-Dam delivered a seven-minute statement in Inuit and refuses to repeat it in Danish amid a political atmosphere in which Greenland is considering seceding from Denmark.

General view of the Danish Parliament at Christiansborg in Copenhagen on February 28, 2023. (AFP)

During a discussion in the Danish parliament in Copenhagen, a Greenlandic MP refused to speak Danish and instead talked in her native Inuit language, aggravating Danish MPs and adding to tensions in ties between Denmark and Greenland.

Aki-Matilda Hegh-Dam, one of two Greenlandic members of the Danish parliament, delivered an almost seven-minute statement in Greenlandic during a discussion on Friday regarding the two nations' ties.

She declined to repeat her remarks in Danish when the Speaker of the House asked her to.

Greenland has its own official Inuit language. Until 1953, when it became a recognized member of the Kingdom of Denmark, it had been considered a colony of Denmark. Danish is taught as a second language beginning in the first grade, but the two languages have nothing in common.

Denmark-Greenland relations have lately deteriorated following discoveries last year of misbehavior by Danish authorities in Greenland throughout the twentieth century, including the forcible fitting of intrauterine devices in some Greenlandic women during the 1960s and 1970s.

Following the discussion, Hegh-Dam stated, “I don’t understand why it is so odious to be allowed to speak what is categorized as the official language of Greenland, which is my constituency.”

Greenland received considerable self-government authority, including the possibility to declare independence from Denmark, in 2009.

“We are no longer afraid to speak out. We are not afraid to use our voice and our language. The spirit of change is here, and the next step in the right direction would be state formation,” said Hegh-Dam.

Greenland's government presented its first draft constitution to the country's parliament last week.

MP Karsten Hønge expressed that the dialogue was "difficult" because Hegh-Dam "was born in Denmark and speaks fluent Danish."

Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister who attended the discussion, was spotted glancing around the room puzzled.