Talk:Greenlandic self-government referendum, 2008

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[edit] Self-government? Don't they already have that?

So, according to Enoksen's clarifications today they are going to have "selvstyre" (self-rule) and not "selvstændighed" (independence). But they already have "hjemmestyre" (home-rule) so I don't really understand what's going on. Some sort of increased independence, I suppose, but I don't know any details. Apparently this has caused some confusion in Greenland as well, since he felt compelled to clarify. Maybe this is totally clear in Greenlandic but I have no understanding of that language. Haukur (talk) 19:45, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Strange. Maybe it's just meant to gauge support before an actual independence referendum is attempted after the next elections? —Nightstallion 20:01, 7 January 2008 (UTC)
Perhaps they are looking at something similar to the Kingdom of Iceland? That would mean the establishment of a Kingdom of Greenland, in personal union with the Kingdom of Denmark, and where perhaps/probably part of defence and foreign affairs were handled by Copenhagen on behalf of Nuuk. This way they will remain part of "det danske rige". I'm not sure how much actual change it would mean, but it might be important symbolically. Opinions? -- Nidator T / C 01:19, 8 January 2008 (UTC)
That could well be, but I'm not really in any position to verify it... ;) —Nightstallion 08:39, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

Okay, I've read some articles about this on http://sermitsiaq.gl and apparently no-one knows exactly what will happen since the committee (Selvstyrekommissionen) which is meant to propose the new self-government law hasn't done so yet. Enoksen has come under criticism for rushing things, he may be trying to force the committee's hand. The Democrats have suggested he made his move to strengthen his position in a power-struggle within his own party - I have no idea whether there's any truth to this. In any case, the plan is for the self-government to come into effect on June 21, 2009. In order for that to happen, Selvstyrekommissionen will actually have to come up with some law (!), it will have to be ratified in a referendum and it will have to be ratified by the Danish Folketing. So it's a fairly ambitious timetable.

As for the analogy with Iceland, I don't know. I think they already have a similar status as Iceland attained in 1904 (home-rule) and it doesn't look like they're going for a separate kingdom (Iceland in 1918). But it's definitely some sort of step towards greater autonomy. Haukur (talk) 09:21, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

Hey, they actually have some of this in English - try here: [1] Haukur (talk) 09:34, 8 January 2008 (UTC)
And here's some really crunchy information in English: Report from the Commission on Self-governance March 2003 This treats all the possibilities, including the Kingdom of Iceland model. Haukur (talk) 09:48, 8 January 2008 (UTC)
That is interesting. These possibilities should be added to the article in list form. If they are going to stay in "det danske rige" then I don't see why they would bother with all this unless they were going for something tangible like the Kingdom of Iceland model. Arranging a national conversation and a referendum simply for moving some competences from Copenhagen seems like over-kill. -- Nidator T / C 14:12, 8 January 2008 (UTC)
Yeah, if one of you could write up a paragraph about the options available and a paragraph about the proposed timing, that would be a great idea. Why that date, BTW? Is that the date for the next elections? —Nightstallion 15:30, 8 January 2008 (UTC)
Well, you could too :) The English edition of Sermitsiaq seems to lag behind a day or so. Here's one of their recent English articles: [2] The date seems to be arbitrary, "just an idea from the prime minister" according to the Democrats. Also see this article: [3] Apparently the work of the self-rule commission stalled after the Danish parliamentary election and is being kicked into gear again. One of the major issues is the distribution of oil revenues. Haukur (talk) 16:03, 8 January 2008 (UTC)
I can add the list and then you can improve on it afterwards. -- Nidator T / C 17:09, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

please. change the electoral calendar ïndependence referendum is not correct and it contradicts the title of this wikipage. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.7.178.8 (talk) 14:44, 9 January 2008 (UTC)