MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine opposition calls for close trade, education, culture ties with Falklands

Hipolito Solari Irigoyen, chairman of Argentina’s main opposition party convention.

Argentina should insist in developing the natural interdependency between the Malvinas Islands and the rest of Argentine territory, promoting sea and air links to help develop trade, educational and cultural ties with Islanders, according to Hipolito Solari Irigoyen, a political figure from the opposition Radical party and international jurist.

“To the benefit of the Islanders Argentina must insist in developing the natural interdependency between the Islands and the Argentine continent”, and for that it will be necessary “to renegotiate the latest (1999) communication agreement which limits to an only monthly stop over in Rio Gallegos of the Lan flight which links the Islands with Punta Arenas and other Chilean cities”, writes Solari Irigoyen in a column published in Buenos Aires daily La Nación.

The publication was motivated because June 10th is the Malvinas Day in the Argentine calendar and recalls the very day in 1829 when the government of Buenos Aires created the Political and Military Command and named Luis Vernet to head it.

“This is an appropriate occasion to reaffirm our just rights over the Malvinas archipelago and others in the austral sector: South Georgia and South Sandwich islands as well as to ratify Argentina’s policy in respect of those territories usurped by the United Kingdom and advance with the diplomatic claim”, says the author in the presentation of his column.

Solari Irigoyen argues that Islanders, because of the isolation they live in plus the fisheries and wool crisis (the economy’s main resources) are going through a most difficult economic situation, and if “colonial authorities insist in opposing the authorization of other flights, the (Argentine) government should subsidize Islanders trips to Rio Gallegos, Comodoro Rivadavia, Buenos Aires and other destinations in Argentina”.

He further insists that “the development of trade, educational and cultural links with continental Argentina will result in a clear benefit for the Islanders, many of which also, with the closer links, could start to knock down the artificial barriers which colonial interests have built to separate them from Argentina”.

Finally Solari Irigoyen states that United Nations Resolution 1514/XV describes as incompatible with the purposes and principles of the UN charter, all attempt geared to totally or partially break up national unity and territorial integrity of a country. “This is what has happened with the illegal occupation by force in 1833, of part of our territory and which will always justify the standing claim from the Argentine Republic to recover its territorial integrity”.

Although Profesor Solari Irigoyen is a reputed international jurist and as such has been appointed to many UN and independent committees, but he has also been involved in Argentina politics, the latest as an elected Senator and currently chairman of his party’s convention, and in his column he also points out that Argentina’s main international diplomatic victory in the sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands was UN Resolution 2065/XX.

The resolution acknowledges the existence of a dispute and calls on both sides (Argentina and UK) to solve the issue through conversations taking into account the interests of the Islanders, not their wishes.

The diplomatic success of the 1965 UN resolution on which all Argentine claims have been based since, was achieved during one of the few elected Radical governments Argentina has enjoyed. At the end of June the country is holding mid term elections, with very encouraging prospects for those who oppose the current administration of the Kirchner couple and among other issues their stubborn policy of isolating the Falklands and ignoring the Islanders.