Björk calls on Greenlanders to declare independence | EUROtoday

“I wish all Greenlanders blessings in their fight for independence,” writes Icelandic singer and musician Björk in a publish on Instagram. She additionally offers an image with the define of Greenland within the colours of the nation’s flag. Born in Reykjavik in 1965, she makes use of the historical past of Iceland, which has been impartial from Denmark since 1944, as a comparability.

Björk writes that the Icelanders had been very relieved about this freedom from Danish rule and that they retained their language in consequence. If historical past had been completely different, her personal kids could be talking Danish in the present day. But she additionally explains her exuberant sympathy for the Greenlanders, whom she calls “my fellow Greenlanders” and sees herself as their fellow residents. Colonialism “always sends icy shivers down her spine,” she writes, and the thought that Greenland “could pass from one cruel colonial master to the next” is horrible.

Colonialism and id are life themes for Björk, one of the vital unique worldwide pop stars. In an interview a very long time in the past, she mentioned that as an adolescent in Iceland she was known as a “China Girl” as a result of her look was thought-about “Asian.” Her music “Declare Independence,” launched in 2007, is ambiguous and might be understood as a person or collective attraction. “Don’t let them do that to you,” it says time and again. And: “Start your own currency / Make your own stamp / Protect your language”. The music has additionally been broadly understood as a name to Greenland and the Faroe Islands to interrupt away from Denmark. Now Björk places his message into concrete phrases: “Dear Greenlanders, declare independence!”

The island of Greenland is now largely autonomous and has acquired rising self-government rights since 1979, however it nonetheless belongs to the Danish Kingdom. In his first American presidency, Donald Trump had already expressed a declare to possession of Greenland in 2019, which he just lately reaffirmed, whereas different members of his authorities categorical contradictory statements – on the one hand there’s speak of an American army operation, however of a purchase order of the autonomous Arctic island. According to Björk, the Danish authorities nonetheless treats Greenlanders like second-class residents. She does not remark additional concerning the American one in her posting.