Björk writes to the people of Greenland: “Declare independence.” The post comes after Trump's threats

Björk has publicly expressed her solidarity with the people of Greenland, weighing in on the debate reignited after Donald Trump and members of his administration once again raised the prospect of US control over the island, against an international backdrop also marked by the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

In a lengthy message posted on Instagram on January 5, the Icelandic singer stated: "I wish all Greenlanders well in their fight for independence." The artist went on to say that colonialism has always filled her with a deep sense of unease, explaining that the idea of Greenland passing "from one cruel colonizer to another" is, to her, simply unimaginable. To drive the point home, she quoted an Icelandic expression, "Úr öskunni í eldinn," equivalent to "Out of the ashes and into the fire."

While the message quite transparently alludes to US pressure, it focuses mainly on the historical and political relationship between Greenland and Denmark. Formally, Greenland has not been a Danish colony since the 1950s, but it remains a semi-autonomous territory with its own local government and two representatives in the Copenhagen parliament. Denmark, however, still controls foreign policy and defense and contributes more than half of the island's public budget.

Björk also draws on the experience of her own country, Iceland, which shared a colonial past with Denmark until the first half of the twentieth century. Icelandic independence, achieved in 1944, is described by the artist as a liberation met with great relief, above all for having preserved the country's language and cultural identity.

 

 

 

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The text also makes room for two particularly harrowing episodes tied to Danish rule over Greenland. The first concerns the lawsuit filed in 2024 by 140 Greenlandic women, who accuse Danish authorities of having them fitted with intrauterine devices without consent or information, as part of a demographic control strategy. According to estimates, around 4,500 women and girls were affected between 1966 and 1970. "They're my age or younger, and they have no children," Björk writes.

The second episode refers to the so-called "parenting competency" tests, applied to Greenlandic citizens for years and banned only this past May. Although similar assessments are also used in Denmark in the context of child protection, in Greenland's context they were deemed culturally inadequate and discriminatory. Björk cites the case of a mother whose daughter was taken from her just two hours after birth, in 2024: despite the formal ban on the tests, mother and daughter have yet to be reunited.

The message closes with a direct, unmediated appeal: "Dear Greenlanders, declare independence. With love and solidarity from your neighbors." A farewell that reads as a clear stance, both political and symbolic, in the name of self-determination.

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