Posted on 07/25/2005 4:15:11 PM PDT by Rodney King
n ongoing border dispute between Canada and Denmark is heating up again following Defence Minister Bill Graham's secret visit to a frozen Arctic island north of Greenland.
Last week, Graham set foot on tiny Hans Island, claimed by both Canada and Denmark.
Graham said Canada had always regarded the 1.3-square-kilometre island as part of Canadian territory.
His comments have caused a stir in Copenhagen and now Denmark says it will send a protest letter to Canada over the incident.
Officials at the Canadian Embassy in Copenhagen declined to comment.
Earlier this month, Canadian military personnel landed on the island, leaving behind a Canadian flag and an Inuit stone marker, reported The Globe and Mail.
Hans Island, which lies about 1,100 kilometres south of the North Pole can only be reached during summer because of pack ice.
It has been claimed by both Denmark and Canada since Arctic borders were drawn in 1973.
The border lies through Nares Strait, halfway between Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory and Canada's Ellesmere Island.
However neither country could agree which one would have sovereignty over Hans Island and several other islands in the area, so a decision was made to sort out the question of ownership at a later stage.
It's not the first spat between Canada and Denmark over Hans Island.
Danish navy ships visited in the island in 2002 and 2003.
And in 1984, Tom Hoeyem, Denmark's minister of Greenland affairs, placed a Danish flag on the island and a bottle of brandy with a note saying "Welcome to the Danish island."
This island clearly belongs to Denmark. We know that for a fact because the Danish troops in Iraq told us it was and we didn't hear a single word from the Canadian troops. So, it's settled.
Which country has fewer French?
There's no contest here.
The Inuit had a name for it long before the Danes showed up and called it "Hans" Island.
By the way the Vikings had a colony in Newfoundland established by Lief Erikkson.
A viking killed a member of the Innu tribe over an argumenent concerning a stolen cow and the Innu kicked their asses all the way to Greenland and harassed them until the last Viking ate the last steer and starved to death leaving his story carved into the posts of the stable.
So much for the Vikings and the Danes will be lucky to hold onto Greenland. The Greenlanders hate thier guts.
National pride over a distant possession.... just that simple....
Simple solution...
award it to whomever can develop it most efficently...
get out the quadrotritacale.
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