MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

A Swiss sketch on Falklanders' fears

“Kelpers live physically and geographically in a continent but psychologically and mentally in another, in a mythical Great Britain which probably no longer corresponds with reality”, writes Swiss journalist Jean Bernard Vuilleme in his recently published short book “Notes on Malvinas”.

According to Argentine press reports, Mr. Vuilleme spent a month in the Falklands collecting information for his book on the Islanders whom he describes as frozen in the past, isolated from the world and venerating former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who defeated the Argentines in the 1982 South Atlantic conflict.

"This is quite a negative image of the 2.200 inhabitants of the Islanders or kelpers who live protected by 2.000 British soldiers since the end of the war with the Argentines in 1982".

Nevertheless Argentines continue to be perceived as a threat, but Islanders also fear that some day the British will negotiate their future behind their backs, adds the Swiss reporter.

"They are possessed by a great fragility feeling, looking to the horizon from where the enemy will come to deprive them of their sovereignty, it's an almost frenzy outlook towards Argentina, a constant fear which is reflected in the Penguin News weekly, but above all they fear their future could be decided diplomatically above their heads without consulting them".

The South Atlantic 1982 conflict which cost 268 British and 746 Argentine lives is a dispute which remains latent with no solution on sight since Argentina insists with its sovereignty claims over the Islands, a claim which is rejected by Islanders and Great Britain who continue to refer to them as the Falklands, writes Vuilleme.

"I have the impression that the conflict is blocked given the Islanders stance, who don't want even to hear about the Argentines; they are terribly frightened, and the British position is officially always the same. I see no prospects in the immediate future but geopolitical issues can change suddenly", concludes Vuilleme.