UK rejects Kirchner Falklands' sovereignty plea.

Tuesday, July 15th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

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The British Government has reiterated that there is no question of any change in British policy on Falkland Islands sovereignty. It is British and remains so in accordance with the wishes of the Islanders.

It was responding to reports in the Argentine Press of a 25-minute meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair, saying President Kirchner raised the issue of Falklands sovereignty, complained of the huge revenues earned by the Falklands from South Atlantic fishing, and called for changes in fishing licence regulation.

Mr Blair listened politely but insists there is no intention of changing Britain's commitment of support for the Islanders and their defence.

Questioned by Mercopress, both the Prime Minister's Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office played down the Argentine Press reports, saying that the international conference of Centre-Left parties for which President Kirchner had been invited to the United Kingdom was not the kind of forum in which Falklands sovereignty and its fishing industry could be discussed in any meaningful way.

Neither the Foreign Office nor the Prime Minister's Office had any record of what was discussed with the Prime Minister. This is an indication of the negligible impact the new Argentine Government's pledge of priority to Falklands sovereignty has on British Government policy.

Mr Blair has instead been focusing on Iraq and the intense criticism he faces from growing allegations that he misled the country into going to war on the basis of false intelligence, a controversy which has caused a serious rift in relations with the United States in advance of Mr Blair's visit there for talks with President Bush.

Despite the attendance of 13 world leaders among the hundreds of delegates to the conference, little seems to have been achieved in pushing ahead with the so-called Third Way policies of the centre left. One of the speeches to make most impact was that of President Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, which won high praise in the British media. Under the headline "Lula says a hug can save the world", the London Times said the President's "powerful presence" and animated speech caused hundreds of delegates to reach for their headsets to hear the translation from Portuguese. They were captivated by his speech which was greeted with loud applause.

Emphasising the importance of building relationships, the Brazilian leader said sometimes nothing could replace a hug.

Plea for fund for poor nations

He gave a populist analysis of the global divide between rich and poor, declaring that "to give each citizen on earth the quality of life in Sweden, England or Germany, you would have to make the World three times bigger than it is today".

He attacked Europe's agricultural subsidies and United States trade sanctions against Cuba. The Brazilian leader appealed to the West to open borders to the developing world and called for an international fund for health, education and infrastructure in poorer countries, and for international agreements to curb pollution, provide fresh water and widen primary education, to be implemented without delay so that people in the developing world saw benefits in their lifetimes.

Harold Briley, London

Categories: Falkland Islands.

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