MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

South Atlantic Council Meeting

The South Atlantic council held its annual reception in London on Tuesday. Among the invited guests were present were Sukey Cameron, Governor Donald Lamont, Sir Rex Hunt and the Argentine Ambassador to Britain.

The Chairman of the South Atlantic Council, Martin O'Neill , told Council members and their guests that, twenty years after the conflict and with more instability in Argentina than there has been for many years, it was especially important to try to find bonds of mutual understanding and trust. That, he said, was the only basis on which relations could improve.

Martin O'Neill said: "I think that the problems that exist in Argentina at the moment, both economic and political, are matters of regret and there is no place for any indecent concern that this is what people deserve. Nobody deserves what Argentina is going through and I think it is incumbent on all of us to try and find ways of supporting this country in a time of need. "Equally, I think it¹s important that we don¹t lose track of the fact that Islanders have been through a lot. They are perhaps more self-assured than they have been for a long time and we would like to think that, at this time of differing fortunes, those of us who sit in the UK can try and work for a continuing improvement and understanding. "We know that in a number of ways fishing and other areas improvements have been taking place. It is what unites people and purposes that is far more important than what divides them."

After the meeting Graham Bound interviewed Martin O'Neill. He pointed out that the South Atlantic Council had long been perceived in the Falklands as champions of a new and mature Argentina. Now, he said, in the light of the economic collapse of the country, there will be many people who doubt the wisdom of the Council's belief.

Mr O'Neill replied: "I think that we have to recognise that there¹s a tremendous disappointment and there is a sense of let-down amongst a lot of friends of Argentina. We always took the view that the promotion of a stable, democratic Argentina was the best guarantee for the Falkland Islanders' lifestyle to be maintained. And, it is in no one¹s interest to have Argentina to be impoverished, to be economically debauched and to be politically unstable.

"We would like to think that the people in the Islands would avoid the temptation of being satisfied at the demise of this country. It will come back. There will be a revival. What we¹ve got to ensure is that this time the revival is based on solid economic understanding and a degree of social cohesion which takes account of the ambitions of the poorest and those who are still comfortably well-off in that country.

Graham Bound suggested that the controversial Argentine-British agreement of 1999 might now be forgotten by Islanders as it had achieved little, and now Argentina itself was in chaos.

The Chairman of the South Atlantic Council did not agree: "I think that the agreement is still there. It¹s not been repudiated. It¹s not been quite realised in the way that it had been anticipated. If the Islanders are able to fulfil their part of the agreement and it doesn¹t undermine their sense of security, then I think it would be taken in a positive way by the people in Argentina; [an indication] that their near neighbour doesn¹t have the kind of unreasonable view that sometimes has been portrayed in Argentina. I think that this is a time when Argentina is in a perilous state, for the people of the Islands to be seen to be friends."

During the reception, Graham Bound also spoke to the Argentine Ambassador. He asked the diplomat what impact, if any, the Argentine crisis would have on the country's pursuit of their claim over the Falklands. The Ambassador said there would be minimal impact, pointing out that Argentine democracy survives, and a peaceful approach to the dispute is enshrined in the constitution. "We expect to achieve a solution that through negotiations. That has not changed and will not change because it¹s a constitutional provision in Argentina."

Source: BBC World Service's "Calling the Falklands" report by Graham Bound on Friday, 03 May 2002 - London