MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK MPs monitor Argentine Falklands' action.

As Argentina intensifies hostile pressure on the Falkland Islands, a strong message of
support has come from the British Parliament saying the Argentine Government's actions are being kept under scrutiny.

The secretary of the all-party Parliamentary Falkland Islands Group, Mr Andrew Rosindell, declared: "There are many of us in the House of Commons who continue to monitor what is happening in regard to the Falkland Islands particularly in the light of the new Argentine Government, and we are not afraid to speak out and question Ministers on issues relating to the Falkland Islands".

"We are not prepared to see the same betrayal continue as we have seen over Gibraltar, and the Falkland Islands will remain uppermost in our minds in the months and years ahead".

Addressing the annual general meeting of the Falkland Islands Association in London, Mr Rosindell, Conservative MP for Romford in Essex, said:" For us, in Parliament, it is very important that we continue to work together and I would like to congratulate the Association on everything you are doing. I assure you that you have many friends in the House of Commons and the House of Lords and we will continue to stand up for the interests of the Falklands in Parliament".

He praised the Falkland Islands Association in helping to ensure that the Falkland Islands keep the profile they deserve in the United Kingdom.

Mr Rosindell brought a message of greetings to the Association from the chairman of the all-party parliamentary group, Sir Nicholas Winterton MP.

He presented the Association Chairman, Sir Rex Hunt, with a framed picture of Queen Elizabeth to hang in the Association's headquarters in London.

The MP's assurance was particularly timely and welcome as it coincides with hostile pressure on the Falkland Islands by the Argentine Government, objecting to charter flights from Chile, threatening fish stocks with high seas fishing which could diminish stocks to mutual disadvantage, and complaining about British warships carrying nuclear weapons in 1982 at the time of the Falklands War.

Britain has explained that this was normal practice during the Cold War threat from the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact to counter-balance its enormous stock of nuclear weapons. The United Kingdom says that British warships, already at sea when Argentina launched its surprise invasion, off-loaded their nuclear weapons before reaching the conflict zone, and none were taken into Falklands or Argentine waters.