Icy Relations Over Frozen Isle

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It seems that Canada and Denmark, while docile in their military affairs for the most part, picking not to fight over trivial matters, have continued to duke it out over a pitiful piece of land known as Hans Island. This little island is generally not habitable, or at least so for the average human being, and could be considered a frozen wasteland.

This island and some others are situated between the semi-automonous Greenland (which has a local Danish name) and Ellesmere Island (one of and very frozen desolate islands in the Arctic Ocean in northern Canada, along the Nares Strait.


[courtesy of CBC news: Diplomatic dispute over Arctic heats up.]

Canada, Denmark bicker over desolate, Arctic isle.

This makes it clear that our countries truly have too little time on their hands if they have to bicker over some little island in the middle of nowhere in the coldest, most inhospitable regions of the earth.

Denmark says it will send a protest letter to Canada over a minister's visit to an Arctic island off northwestern Greenland, which is claimed by both countries.

Canadian Defence Minister Bill Graham set foot on the 1.3-square-kilometre Hans Island last week, saying his country has always regarded it as Canadian territory.

Denmark also claims the island, which is roughly 1,100 kilometres south of the North Pole.

While we have yet to actually start a war using our militaries, a war of eloquant words have been sugar-coating the sentiments while expressing utmost discontent with the other's insistance that this puny island belongs to their country. Of course, that's not to say that neither country hasn't put its military presence in the area on occassion.

The Danes have sent naval vessels into the area and Canadian troops have been on that soil.

There have been separate incidents in which both countries have raised their national flag over the island, first by the Danes in 1984 and recently by the Canadians, preceeding a visit by Defence Minister, Bill Graham.

Canada and Denmark agreed in 1973 to create a border through Nares Strait, halfway between Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, and Canada's Ellesmere Island.

But they were unable to agree which country would have sovereignty over Hans Island and various other Arctic islands in the area. In the end, they decided to work out the question of ownership later.

This is truly pathetic; neither can agree on the sovereignty of a bunch of small insignificant islands. They ought to just flip a coin and the winner gets Hans Island and the rest are divied up between the two countries. Of course, then, we'd get the issue of which coin to use...

Oh hell, just give the bloody islands to the Danes; Canada has plenty of frozen islands to go around... After all, the Inuit can't inhabit ALL of these islands now, can they? They just aren't fit for human use.