Around the World: Denmark

More self-rule in Greenland

Greenland expanded its powers of self-rule on its national day yesterday, in a move many residents see as a step toward independence from Denmark.

The increased autonomy, which includes taking control of the police and the courts and making Greenlandic - an Inuit tongue - the official language, was approved by Greenlanders in a referendum in November.

Denmark still has the final say in defense and foreign-policy matters, and Greenland depends heavily on Danish subsidies, which account for two-thirds of the economy of the sparsely populated Arctic island. Danish Queen Margrethe and Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen attended celebrations in the capital, Nuuk.

(China Daily 06/22/2009 page8)