MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Greenlanders vote yes to expanding autonomy

Greenland voters overwhelmingly support a plan to give their country more autonomy from Denmark, official results of a non-binding referendum showed Wednesday.

The Arctic island's election commission said 76 percent voted "yes" to a referendum on extending home rule, and 24 percent voted "no." The plan, which was already approved, calls for the small, mostly Inuit population to take control of the police force, courts and coast guard. It also makes Greenlandic, an Inuit tongue, the official language. The proposal, supported by Denmark, also sets new rules on how to split any future oil revenue between Greenland and Denmark, which has provided subsidies to sustain the economy of the semiautonomous territory. Tuesday's referendum was seen as a final vote of confidence for the extended home rule plan, which is set to take effect on June 21. "The tears are running down my cheeks," Greenland Premier Hans Enoksen said, raising his fists in a sign of victory as it became clear the "yes" side would win. "We have said 'yes' to the right of self-determination, and with this we have accepted a great responsibility." Voters turned up at polls in 18 municipalities across the island, from the capital Nuuk just below the Arctic Circle, to the remote northern outpost of Siorapaluk, where 24-hour darkness reigns during wintertime. About 72 percent of Greenland's nearly 40,000 voters turned out for the referendum, the election commission said. Some were dressed in traditional Greenlandic clothes, with seal-skin boots and colorful knitted sweaters. The plebiscite was based on recommendations this year of a Danish-Greenlandic commission assigned to identify areas in which to expand home rule. The plan gives Greenland more control over its natural resources so that it can eventually phase out an annual Danish subsidy of about $588 million, which accounts for two-thirds of the island's economy. Greenlanders hope to find oil reserves off the western and southern coast of the glacial island, although exploration so far has been unsuccessful. The plan would give Greenland the first $12.6 million of annual oil revenue. Any income beyond that would be shared equally between Greenland and Denmark. Greenland became a Danish colony in 1775 and remained so until 1953, when Denmark revised its constitution and made the island a province. Under the 1979 Home Rule Act, Greenland got its own parliament and government, and self-determination in health care, schools and social services. Foreign and military affairs are controlled by Copenhagen and Denmark's Queen Margrethe is the head of state. All of Greenland's main political groups supported more autonomy except the small opposition Democrats, who questioned whether the island can afford to take over the more than 30 new areas of responsibility outlined in the referendum.