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Arctic Yearbook 2014
Understood in the context of Greenland’s small population, in a country of only 56,000 ‘everyone
knows what everyone else is up to.’ On the one hand this attribute suggests inherent societal
transparency, however, cultural norms deter criticism. Greenlandic culture is imbued with a deep
respect for authority thereby citizens lack the tradition of holding public officials accountable for
their actions, although there is now a growing desire for openness and transparency. Fear of
retribution, however, limits the extent of public engagement. For example, in the private sector
many business owners are either recipients of government funding or rely on government as their
primary customer and thus fear that criticism of authorities will jeopardize their economic interests.
As another example, media is cited as less than objective. Until recently, all three media outlets –
AG, Sermitsiaq and KNR – “were to a great extent subject to unilateral political control.” Although
government exerts less direct control, KNR (Greenland radio) is still reliant on public funding. It is
too soon to judge how media will respond to its new found independence, however, the study notes
that media is often seen as less than objective. Journalists are cited for neglecting to conduct proper
follow up and for a reluctance to be critical of public officials and institutions. Those who were
critical of public officials reported that future requests for interviews were denied. An independent
media foundation is recommended to deal with these issues (Nordic 2012: 11-16).
Dissemination of and access to information in Greenland has far-reaching implications. For
journalists and the ombudsman alike the process of attaining public documents is often delayed,
sometimes denied or the request simply ignored. Although the legislation on transparency is fairly
robust, in practice it is not always forthcoming. In some cases information is gained through the
‘back door.’ (Nordic 2012: 31-32).
BMP has come under considerable scrutiny for its “general culture of secrecy.” A glaring example of
secrecy occurred in 2011 when the Ministry refused to publish the oil spill contingency plan for a
Cairn Energy project. The Ministry was later compelled to publish the plan as a result of public
pressure. While framework agreements with oil and mineral companies are publically available