A Greenlandic MP has refused to speak Danish during a debate in the Danish parliament in Copenhagen and instead spoke in her native Inuit language, frustrating uncomprehending lawmakers and highlighting strained relations between Denmark and Greenland.
Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam, one of two members of the Danish parliament representing Greenland, gave a nearly seven-minute speech in Greenlandic during a debate on Friday about relations between Denmark and Greenland.
When the speaker of the parliament encouraged Høegh-Dam to repeat her speech in Danish, she refused.
Greenland, a Danish colony until 1953 when it became a formal part of the Kingdom of Denmark, has its own official Inuit language. Danish is taught as a second language from the first year of primary school. The two languages are nothing alike.
Relations between Denmark and Greenland have soured recently after revelations last year of misconduct by Danish authorities in Greenland during the 20th century, including the involuntary fitting of intrauterine devices in some Greenlandic women during the 1960s and 1970s.
After the debate, Høegh-Dam said her speech had focused on the recent revelations. “I don’t understand why it is so odious to be allowed to speak what is categorised as the official language of Greenland, which is my constituency.”
In 2009, Greenland was granted broad self-governing autonomy, including the right to declare independence from Denmark.
“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 Høegh-Dam.
Last week, Greenland’s government presented its first draft constitution to its parliament.
“This is a difficult dialogue. I know that the speaker was born in Denmark and speaks fluent Danish,” said the MP Karsten Hønge during the debate.
The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, who attended the debate, was seen looking around the room nonplussed.
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