A Greenlandic representative refused to speak in Danish, but only in Inuit's mother tongue, in the Copenhagen parliament on Friday, in order to draw attention to the tense relationship between Denmark and Greenland, which belongs to it.
Aki-Matilda Hoegh-Dam, one of the two representatives from Greenland, gave an almost seven-minute speech in her native language in the parliamentary debate concerning her native country. Since the other deputies did not understand the language, the speaker called on him to say in Danish what he had talked about in his speech, but he refused. Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953, after which it became an official part of the kingdom with its own official language, Inuit. Danish is also taught in its schools. The two languages are significantly different from each other, writes MTI.
The relationship between Nuuk and Copenhagen has recently soured due to the revelation of several past serious violations of the law by the Danish authorities, including forcing Greenlandic women to take contraceptives in the 1960s and 1970s.
Speaking to the Reuters news agency, Hoegh-Dam said that he focused on these revelations in his speech.
I don't understand why it is considered so abominable if a representative of a constituency there speaks in the official language of Greenland - complained the politician.
In 2009, Greenland was granted extensive autonomy, including the right to declare independence from Denmark.
We are no longer afraid to speak up. We are not afraid to make our voices heard and use our language. The situation is ripe for change, and the next correct step should be the establishment of a state, he stressed. Greenland presented its draft constitution in the local parliament last week.
What would happen if Hungarian representatives spoke only in their mother tongue: in the Romanian, Serbian, Croatian, Austrian, Slovak, Ukrainian, and Serbian parliaments? If Hungarian were (too) an official language, and of course could it be used in offices, schools, and the media?
Schools could teach in the language of the ancestors. Everyone could easily take on dual (or even multiple) citizenship. He could care for his traditions without worry, his customs would be respected. Then they would get the rights that the Inuit have from the Danish crown!
Then, of course, the Inuit are thinking about founding a state. However, we don't need it, because it was founded by Saint István 1000 years ago.
Something stinks only in Denmark, as Shakespeare's Marcellus said!
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