Greenland MP lashes out at lack of Danish respect
When Greenlandic Folketing member Markus E. Olsen took to the Folketing rostrum late Thursday evening during the Folketing’s opening debate, he spoke Greenlandic as announced. Subsequently, Markus E. Olsen, who is from the Siumut party, translates his speech himself. “I am grateful that Greenlandic has finally been approved in this Chamber. However, it would have been even better if simultaneous interpretation had also been introduced,” he says. “My Danish is far from good enough for political dialogue.
The Presidium of the Folketing has investigated the possibility of purchasing interpretation and getting the Folketing ready for it. The assessment is that it is too expensive. That is why the North Atlantic members of the Folketing have been given extra speaking time to translate their own speeches. Markus E. Olsen draws a line between the lack of interpretation of his speeches and a lack of Danish respect for Greenland: “This dispower or lack of respect for language and culture, which especially the Danes have for Greenland.” /ritzau/