'Greenland Rangers' Is a Hot Topic in the Election Campaign in Denmark
Pele Broberg, chairman of Greenland’s largest opposition party, Naleraq, has been surprised that the second opposition party, Siumut, is now going to the general election on the basis that they should establish what they call Kalaallit Rangers. It is something that Naleraq has long warmly advocated, he says.
It is a scheme where the country’s fishermen and trappers will help monitor the coast as local emergency workers. It has previously been described as Greenland Rangers.
The scheme is widespread in Canada and Iceland, among other places, and has been up for revision several times over the years.
Pele Broberg is, however, positively surprised. Such a scheme is a proposal that Naleraq has put on the table several times without the support of the other parties, says the chairman.
“We have described this many times before, where people have not wanted to do it. But then we are just happy that there is now a change,” says Pele Broberg.
This Is How It Works in Canada and Iceland
The question of whether to establish a scheme where local hunters and fishermen help with emergency tasks has been raised several times. During the election campaign for the general election, Siumut referred to it as the Kalaallit Rangers, while it has previously also been called the Greenland Rangers.
In Canada, there is a concept called the Canadian Rangers. It functions as a local, volunteer force that supplements the military in hard-to-reach areas. The Canadian Rangers consist of people who know the area and can report on incidents and help without requiring military forces.
Iceland has a coast guard, the Icelandic Coast Guard, which is a centralized state unit. It is responsible for everything from patrolling and fisheries control to surveillance and assistance in the event of accidents. Iceland does not have a traditional military.
Here, the rangers concept has been mentioned as a possible model for strengthening surveillance in remote areas, like in Canada. An actual coast guard would be a centralized institution under the Self-Government or the Armed Forces.
Pele Broberg refers, among other things, to a report from the Autumn Session in the Parliament of Greenland in 2023 on the defense agreement between the United States and Denmark. Here, Naleraq states that they have “pointed out that the establishment of a civilian-based coast guard, inspired by Iceland, is a possibility.”
At the same time, it states that one must “replace Arctic Command with our own people, so that we ourselves can perform SAR (Search and Rescue) and other related functions.”
According to Pele Broberg, however, this does not mean that the Arctic Command should not be in Greenland.
“This means that if you are going to create Greenlandic rangers, it has to be under a command structure that falls under the Self-Government,” he believes.
Support
At the same time, Pele Broberg states that in 2023, when he was minister of foreign affairs of Greenland, he received a request from the USA to have more surveillance in Greenland, including the possibility of a civilian coast guard. At that time, it was not something the rest of the coalition wanted, he says.
Therefore, Broberg is pleased that the two parties agree that the rangers concept is a good idea. He could not resist calling KNR back with an addition after the interview.
“This coalition says that we must stand together. I am glad that they have agreed to stand together on Naleraq’s policy,” he says with a laugh.
When the Danish government, Greenland and Canada signed a defense agreement last month, the rangers concept was also included. Greenland’s minister of foreign affairs, Vivian Motzfeldt, stressed that she was looking forward to exchanging more experience with Canada.
The Danish minister of defense, Troels Lund Poulsen, has also previously told KNR that the concept will be particularly relevant in East Greenland.
Source: KNR (in Danish)