US squatting on Danish land

Nov 3 08:12 UTC 2003

Inuit hunters are to ask Denmark's Supreme Court on Monday to close 
down one of America's most secretive and strategically important 
military bases. 
 
The Inuit claim they were illegally evicted from traditional grounds 
in northern Greenland and they are demanding the right of return. 

The US would like to use Thule air base as a site for the 
controversial Star Wars National Missile Defence System. 

The case pits a superpower against the world's smallest indigenous 
people. 

Thule contains powerful surveillance equipment, making it an ideal 
existing site for America. 

Lawyers representing the Inuit claim that their very survival is at 
stake as the territory to which they were exiled no longer has 
sufficient food stocks to sustain them. 

In 1953 the Danish authorities forcibly evicted the Inuit from their 
ancestral lands in Northern Greenland where for thousands of years 
they hunted whales, polar bears and other arctic creatures. 

Their removal enabled the Americans to establish a vital arctic 
outpost. 

Thule's location allowed the Americans to monitor Soviet military 
activities and, most importantly, to give early warning of any 
possible first nuclear strike. 

Right of return 

Four years ago, a Danish High Court ruled that the Inuit had been 
illegally exiled but denied them the right of return. 

The Supreme Court justices now have to decide whether or not they have 
the legal right to go home. 

Acalug Lunga is a member of the Greenland home rule parliament and 
author of a book called Right of Return. 

"The Americans need to understand that you don't just take away the 
homes of people - even in Greenland - and you don't take away their 
livelihood. I think it's also important to send a message through this 
process here at the Supreme Court in Denmark that United States also 
recognises our rights," he said. 

The Inuits' lawyers believe if they win the Danish authorities may 
have to order the Americans to move their base. 

Since the Cold War ended Thule has evolved into America's ear on the 
northern hemisphere. 

Washington is planning to upgrade its surveillance capabilities and is 
also seeking Danish permission to use the base as part of the Star 
Wars National Missile Defence System. 

The Americans will not be represented in court as this dispute is 
technically between the Inuit and the Danish Government but a 
spokesman for the US embassy in Copenhagen said it was keeping a close 
eye on the case. 

Legal experts assess the Inuits' chances of success at 50-50.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3236083.stm

response 2 of 5:

Nov 3 12:51 UTC 2003

Nor could they possibly be the world's least numerous indigenous people. 
Check out the list of dying languages -- there are quite a few which have
less than 25 native speakers left.  (Almost every one of those language
groups would qualify as "an indigenous people".)

Overall, it's silly to make that kind of claim.

response 4 of 5:

Nov 3 20:26 UTC 2003

We'd have to know more about the geography. The base could be occupying most
of the fruitfully occupyable land. (There is an entertaining article about
Greenland and the Thule base, including an "aerial" photograph, at
http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/4466/mapintro.html)