Kenn Nakata Steffensen
I am pleased but mystified that somebody has placed us among the top 100 blogs on Denmark. How did that happen? The Internet does move in mysterious ways. I have no idea how these choices are made, nor what it means. It may not mean much, but thanks to The Daily Reviewer anyway.
It seems to have been the translation of Juliane Henningsen’s question to the Prime Minister they picked up on. We wanted to write something more analytical on that and the politics of history/apologies for past deeds, but other things have kept us busy.
Both the particular case of Greenland and the general issues raised by the parliamentary question and the government’s response merit closer attention. It has made me wonder about:
- Why do Inuit Ataqatigiit/Juliane Henningsen choose to reopen the issue first raised and dismissed in 1998 now?
- Why was the reply in 2009 virtually identical to the one in 1998, in spite of major constitutional change in the form of the transition from home rule to self rule?
- Why have the Danish Social Democrats turned around on this issue and now aligned themselves with the North Atlantic nationalists?
- Which crimes committed in colonial history require an official apology, and which ones do not? According to which criteria?
- Does the Danish government’s reasoning not logically imply that Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and the like should be forgiven because they had good intentions and different ethical standards?
Hopefully, there will be time to address some or all of these questions soon.
Cultural Meanings 