グリーンランド議会、憲法草案めぐり第１読会

【コペンハーゲンＡＦＰ＝時事】デンマーク領グリーンランドの自治議会は２８日、憲法草案をめぐる第１読会を開いた。独自憲法の制定は、将来の独立交渉に際し、よりどころとなるものだ。（写真は資料写真。）
　憲法草案は、憲法制定委員会が４年かけて起草。グリーンランド語で書かれており、４９段落で構成されている。
　グリーンランドの人口は約５万５０００人。１９７９年に広範な自治権を獲得した。独自の旗、言語、文化、自治政府機関を有する。ただ、域内総生産（ＧＤＰ）の４分の１、予算の半分以上をデンマークからの補助金に依存している。
　２００９年に施行された自治政府法の下、権限はさらに拡大したが、通貨の発行、司法制度、外交・安全保障などの分野は依然、デンマークが担っている。地元メディアによると、憲法草案には、グリーンランド独自のパスポートの発給、司法権限をどうするかといった点については明記されていない。
　王室に関する言及もなかった。デンマークの元首である女王もしくは王を引き続き元首としていただくのか、未解決の問題として残されている。
　デンマーク国際問題研究所のウルリック・プラム・ガド研究員はＡＦＰに、「（憲法草案は）現時点ではグリーンランド内の問題を扱っている。デンマークとの交渉が始まり、それを担当する政治家が決まった段階で、デンマークとの関係も浮上してくるだろう」と語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/05/01-17:05）

Greenland's lawmakers on Friday got their first look at a draft constitution which the autonomous territory could rely on if it comes to negotiating independence from Denmark.
Developed in secrecy over four years, the 49-paragraph document written in Greenlandic was presented by a constitutional commission to the territory's parliament, the Inatsisartut, where it will now be discussed.
The text, still in the draft stage, did not come down firmly on several key issues, local media reported -- including Greenlandic passport access and the administration of justice, areas still managed by mainland Denmark.
It also made no reference to the monarchy, leaving unresolved the question of whether the queen or king of Denmark would remain head of state.
For the time being (the draft constitution) is primarily a Greenlandic issue. It will only concern Denmark when Greenland has discussed it and depending on what the politicians decide, Ulrik Pram Gad, a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies and an expert on Danish-Greenlandic relations told AFP.
Greenland has been autonomous since 1979. The world's largest island, located in the Arctic some 2,500 kilometres (1,550 miles) from Denmark, has its own flag, language, culture and institutions, but still relies heavily on a Danish grant which makes up a quarter of its GDP and more than half of its public budget.
Mainland Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland -- with its roughly 55,000 inhabitants -- together form the Kingdom of Denmark.
- Moving towards independence -
Since the 2009 Self-Government Act, only currency, the justice system and foreign and security affairs fall under Denmark's authority.
The Act also included a provision that if Greenland's people take a decision in favour of independence, negotiations are to commence between Nuuk and Copenhagen.
The resulting agreement, reached with the consent of the Danish and Greenlandic parliaments, would then have to be approved via a referendum in Greenland.
There won't be a revolution tomorrow, but the text will enlighten the debate, Pram Gad said, adding that it still shows that Greenland wants to move to a new, looser stage in its relationship with Denmark.
It remains to be seen whether politicians and the public agree with the project and whether Greenland's leaders will dare to set the ball rolling, he said.
For Social Democrat Aki-Matilda Hoegh-Dam, who holds one of the seats reserved for Greenland in the Danish parliament, the text represents a step towards the creation of a sovereign Greenlandic state.
We will have a more in-depth discussion on exactly how this will happen covering matters including citizenship and voting rights, she said during a recent press briefing.
When it comes to future relations with Denmark, a potential free association agreement, which has been mulled in the past, is mentioned in an annex to the draft constitution.
We want to create a common solution that is beneficial for both countries, stressed Hoegh-Dam, who envisions negotiations on the island's sovereignty starting within a decade.
The territory's geostrategic location and massive mineral reserves have raised international interest in recent years, as evidenced by former US president Donald Trump's swiftly rebuffed offer to buy it in 2019.
But even though the idea of buying up Greenland has been abandoned, Washington has sought to gain more influence.