MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Speech transcription of Gov. H. Pearce during a Ceremony held in Stanley's Court yesterday.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is a great honour and an enormous privilege to have been appointed Governor of the Falkland Islands. This is a job I wanted to do and which I asked for. I count myself fortunate to have been chosen to do it. I am conscious that I follow in the footsteps of many distinguished predecessors.
My connections with the Falkland Islands started over a quarter of a century ago. I visited the Falklands three times -in 1975, 1976 and 1978 -during my first Diplomatic Service posting, to the British Embassy in Buenos Aires, where my responsibilities included Falkland Islands affairs. My imagination was caught by the Islands then, and I have retained an interest ever since. I have many happy memories of those visits and of the generous hospitality and kindness shown to me in both Stanley and Camp.
Since then my career has taken me to several other comers of the world -including Kenya, Hungary, the United States and Malta -as well as a range of jobs in London. It is good to be back after so many years.
As many of you know, I was able to visit the Falklands briefly in September as part of my preparations for the post. I was deeply impressed by the changes since I was last here in the seventies. The improvements in infrastructure -the new school and hospital, the extension to the infant and junior school, the road network, the modem local air service and ease of communications -have brought about significant benefits to the quality of life, while others, such as the new abattoir, which I was delighted to learn has just received EU certification, offer new economic opportunities.
But there is another change which is less tangible but, in my view, the most important of all. There is a new spirit in the Falkland Islands. The community I visited in the seventies had qualities of independence, self-reliance, toughness and self- sufficiency which have always made these Islands special, and which came to the fore during the dreadful events of 1982. But there was also economic stagnation, uncertainty, insecurity and lack of confidence in the future which worried the older generation and encouraged the young to leave.
How different it is now. I have been impressed by the optimism, self-confidence and dynamism, which I have encountered. There is a real vision that the Falklands have an exciting future and that opportunities are there to be taken.
There is a genuine entrepreneurial spirit. Young people are leaving to complete their education, but are eager to return.
These changes reflect great credit on the leadership of the Falklands community. But they also hang on the commitment of the British Government to the future of the Falklands Islands. That commitment is clear, explicit and unequivocal. As Prime Minister Tony Blair put it in his address to the people of the Falkland Islands on the 20th anniversary of the Falklands conflict: "In all our dealings with Argentina, we are absolutely clear that the sovereignty, security and right of self-determination of the Falkland Islands and its people are not open to negotiation or compromise."
When I called on the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, just over a month ago, Mr Straw reiterated the Government's firm commitment to respect the Falkland Islanders' wishes about their future.
This does not rule out further steps in the Islands' dealings with Argentina -but only where they meet two tests: that they are in the interests of the Falkland Islands and their inhabitants, and are in accord with the wishes of the Falkland Islanders and your elected representatives.
This year has marked the 20th anniversary of the conflict in 1982. I, like many of you, no doubt, find it difficult to believe that so many years have passed since those terrible events, the memory of which must still be so real to so many of you. It is right to look back, in particular to recall those who took part in the liberation of the Falklands, and especially to remember those who died -on both sides. This year's commemorative ceremonies have provided a fitting way of doing so. They have been witnessed not only by those who participated directly but also by many who have watched on television or listened on radio around the world. Many people have been moved by the dignity and solemnity of these events.
They have also provided an opportunity to bring the achievements of the Falkland Islands over the last 20 years to the knowledge of a wider public. There has been extensive and almost universally positive coverage of the Islands in the media during the course of this year. I have been impressed during my preparations for taking up the governorship by the wide range of organisations in the UK which have an interest in and knowledge of the Falkland Islands. I should like to acknowledge here the excellent work to promote the Islands done by Sukey Cameron and her team at the Falkland Islands Government Office in London.
This is also an opportunity for you to take stock of what you have achieved and to look forward to the future. You have good grounds for satisfaction with both past achievements and future prospects.
But there are also plenty of challenges, and no grounds for complacency. The failure of the squid to reappear during the last fishing season is a reminder of our dependence on and the fragility of our income from fishing licences. Government, and in particular Councillors, may face difficult decisions about how to handle the budgetary consequences if the squid fail to return next year. We cannot assume that recent years of plenty will continue indefinitely. But I am reassured by Government's preparations to ensure the prudent management of the economy to cover such an eventuality.
The situation also highlights the need to diversify the Islands' economy so that we can become less dependent on only one or two sources of income. The Falkland Islands Development Corporation and Government Departments have been working hard at this in recent years. There are plenty of ideas about, ranging from diversification of the fishery to development of the port and increasing the output from agriculture. It is important now to bring some of them to fruition. The abattoir is one such. Certification by the EU is an important achievement, and I take this opportunity to congratulate those here who have worked so hard to achieve it. But this is only the beginning. The challenge now is to market quality products successfully so that the Islands can reap the benefit of this substantial investment. This is a challenge as much for the private sector as for Government.
These have been years of change. It is almost a truism to say that in the modem world change is a fact of life which we have to get used to, whether we like it or not. Often we don't like it at all. Nevertheless much -indeed most -of the changes in the Islands seem to me to have been for the good. But not all. I know for example that many of you are deeply concerned about the depopulation of Camp, and are debating measures to reverse it. The Goose Green project is one such measure and is already producing some results, although it is still early days.
One area of immediate change is the senior Government team. My arrival will be followed rapidly by the new Commander British Forces, Brigadier Jamie Gordon, who takes over from Commodore Richard Ibbotson. I am impressed by the respect in which the British Forces in the Falkland Islands are held. You demonstrated that by granting them the Freedom of the Falkland Islands earlier this year. The Chief Executive, Michael Blanch, leaves the islands in the early part of next year, to be succeeded by Chris Simpkins. Richard Baker of the FIDC is also due to leave us soon. And Russ Jarvis, for several years a cornerstone of Government House, departs in the middle of next year.
I should like to pay tribute to the substantial contribution to the Falkland Islands which has been made by all of those about to leave, and especially by my own predecessor, Donald Lamont. They will all be very difficult acts to follow. I and my new colleagues will be on steep learning curves. But I am sure that all those who take up their new posts over the next few months will share my sense of excitement and privilege. I very much look forward to serving the people of the Falkland Islands over the years to come.
His Excellency Governor Howard Pearce. Stanley - Tuesday 3, December 2002
Top Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesCommenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!