MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

C24 supports Argentina Falklands claim; Taiana blasts UK unilateral actions

Argentine minister Jorge Taiana and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

Recovering full sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands is state policy and the strong desire of the Argentine people, said Foreign Affairs minister Jorge Taiana on Thursday addressing the United Nations Decolonization Special Committee, C24, in New York.

Later in the afternoon Taiana met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and reiterated Argentina’s predisposition to resume sovereignty talks over the disputed territories with the United Kingdom.

As usual the presentations by Argentine officials and petitioners and Falkland Islands elected representatives ended with a consensus statement from C24 in support of Argentina’s claims and calls for a resumption of negotiations with the UK to find a peaceful solution to the dispute.

The initiative was sponsored by five Latinamerican countries, Bolivia, Cuba, Chile, Ecuador and Venezuela and presented by Chile.

Taiana enumerated both before C24 and Ban Ki-moon what he described as “unilateral” UK actions referred to hydrocarbons and fisheries.

According to a release from the Argentine ministry, Ban Ki-moon said the would continue with his good offices mission so that UN General Assembly resolutions and Thursday’s ratification by C24 are complied and both sides sit at a negotiation table to address the issue of sovereignty over the Malvinas, South Georgia, South Sandwich islands and adjoining maritime spaces.

Taiana pointed out to the UN Secretary General that Thursday’s C24 consensus resolution on the Malvinas question “clearly strengthens the Argentine position and the United Nations call for the United Kingdom to begin negotiations with our country”.

The Argentine official thanked Ban Ki-moon for his efforts and renewed the request for him to continue with the diplomatic mission (convincing the UK), which remains standing, as was recommended by the UN General Assembly.

“The United Kingdom has been involved in numerous unilateral actions in the disputed zone, which Argentina does not admit, has protested and will continue to protest. Those unilateral actions referred to hydrocarbons, flights, fisheries blur bilateral cooperation agreed under the sovereignty formula, and are contrary not only to bilateral understandings but also to the pertinent UN resolutions”, added Taiana.

He said the Malvinas question is a clear example of “anachronic colonialism” which must be solved as indicated by the multiple UN, OAS and other multilateral and regional forum resolutions.

Furthermore the “presence of a powerful military base implanted by the United Kingdom in the Islands, in no way contributes to the necessary bilateral military confidence building and constitutes a disturbing element for the maintenance of peace and security in the South Atlantic, an effort to which are committed all countries from the Southern Cone”.

Taiana addressed the Decolonization Committee following the speeches of the two Falkland Islands elected representatives, Richard Stevens and Janet Robertson.

Two petitioners from the Argentine side also addressed the committee. Dolores Reynolds a descendent from Anglican reverend Thomas Birdges claimed the British strategy back in 1833 was to displace the Argentine population and bring in immigrants from the UK to ensure the colonial empire.

“The Argentine population was expulsed, eradicated so that they could not establish in the Islands, a policy that subsists to our days”.

She said that the objectives of the Anglican mission to which her grandfather belonged did not coincide with the English plans to occupy the Malvinas, “they wanted to cut all links with mainland Argentina and prepare a parody of self determination for the transplanted population”.

The other petitioner was Marcelo Luis Vernet a direct descendent from the first Argentine nominated military and political commander in Malvinas.

“We can’t think of our motherland without Malvinas. We can’t think as a people without being the People of Malvinas”, he underlined.