Barroso and Pöttering are 'Conquistadors'
Semi-retired Greenlandic politician Jonathan Motzfeldt is not at all happy with the EU, and has expressed it in fairly strong terms:
"Jonathan Motzfeldt...has written a letter both to commission president José Manuel Barroso and parliamentary chairman Hans-Gert Pöttering criticising the handling of debates regarding the future of whaling and sale of sealskin. ‘The way the European parliament and commission handle these cases is a direct attempt to put an end to an Arctic culture that is over a thousand years old,’ wrote Motzfeldt. ‘It is reminiscent of the policies used by the conquistadors in South America over 400 years ago. Shame on you Europe.’...‘The politics of the commission and the parliament are morally reprehensible and based on a lack of knowledge and respect for other peoples.’
I have some sympathy with Motzfeldt's championing of the traditional hunting etc practices of his fellow countrymen, but I think he has got his dates a litttle askew, as by my reckoning the conquista was a done deal by around 1540.
I have some sympathy with Motzfeldt's championing of the traditional hunting etc practices of his fellow countrymen, but I think he has got his dates a litttle askew, as by my reckoning the conquista was a done deal by around 1540.
Labels: EU fun and games, Greenland