By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Denmark publicly apologised on Wednesday to Greenlandic women who were victims of a decades-long involuntary birth control campaign, amid efforts by Copenhagen to repair relations with the island and fend off U.S. interest in taking it over.
The birth control campaign came to light in 2022 when records showed that thousands of women and girls as young as 13 had been fitted with intrauterine devices without their knowledge or consent between 1966 and 1991, the year Greenland was given authority over its healthcare system.
“We cannot change what has happened. But we can take responsibility. Therefore, on behalf of Denmark, I would like to say: Sorry,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.
The case is one of several that have emerged in recent years of allegations of misconduct by Danish authorities against the people of Greenland, now a semi-autonomous Danish territory.
Separately on Wednesday, Denmark summoned the top U.S. diplomat in Copenhagen over Danish intelligence reports that U.S. citizens had been conducting covert influence operations in Greenland.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he wants to take over Greenland for national and international security reasons, and to gain control of the Arctic island’s resources.
His administration has cited the historic mistreatment of Greenland’s residents under Danish rule. Polls show most of Greenland’s 60,000 residents favour eventual independence from Denmark but not a U.S. takeover.
Denmark publicly apologised in 2022 to the victims of a 1950s experiment in which children from Greenland were taken to Denmark.
Last year, a group of women from Greenland, now in their 70s and 80s, sought compensation in court from Denmark over the involuntary birth control campaign.
Denmark has yet to provide compensation, citing an ongoing investigation to uncover the extent of the cases and the decision-making process behind the campaign. The result of the investigation is expected next month.
(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-PedersenEditing by Peter Graff)
