MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands’ oil exploration “looking at business options in Brazil”
MLA Glen Ross interviewed by the Brazilian press (Pic FIG) Falkland Islands member of the Legislative Assembly Glen Ross said the Islands are interested in reaching a business agreement with Brazil for the maintenance of the oil rig currently involved in a round of exploratory drilling.
Interviewed on Monday (Liberation Day in the Falklands) by Folha de Sao Paulo’s Buenos Aires correspondent Gustavo Hennemann, MLA Ross said the Falklands would like to have normal peaceful relations with Argentina but things couldn’t be worse, “because Argentina has broken all existing agreements and understandings between both countries”.
“The exploratory oil rig ‘Ocean Guardian’ (which arrived in the Falklands last February) needs maintenance and provisions, and we are looking at business options in Brazil”. MLA Ross is quoted in the influential Sao Paulo newspaper.
Asked if there are any chances of reaching an understanding with Argentina reference oil exploration, MLA Ross says the opportunity still exists, “so far the Argentines are the only responsible for breaking the agreements signed between our two countries. Any treaty with Argentina is not worth the paper it’s written on”.
MLA Ross said relations with Argentina are ‘deplorable’ and have been worsening for the last three years: “we want to live peacefully with our neighbours. We are a small democratic country with an autonomous government and budget, and we only depend on the UK for defence. The Argentine government is quarrelling on its own. We have an independent spirit and on our own will want to be British”.
Asked about the UN resolutions since 1965 calling for Falklands sovereignty talks between the UK and Argentina, MLA Ross replied that “sovereignty is not negotiable, and from the Argentine point of view, negotiations means taking all of it. The ancestors of Falklanders have been in the Islands for 170 years. My family arrived in 1842, I’m sixth generation. We didn’t expel any original communities, any aborigines; we have a discrepancy on that. The fact is that Argentines are not polite neighbours with nobody. I’m thankful for every drop of water that separates us from them”.
And if Argentina dropped its sovereignty claims over the Islands would the local population be willing to become independent from the UK?
“We are very small, but if we had a friendly neighbourhood and they would support us, it would be interesting to consider it. Unfortunately we can’t even stop to think about that hypothesis”.
MLA Ross went on to explain that the Falklands have good and long relations with Chile and Uruguay. In the seventies there was a sea link with a Uruguayan port and today there are 200 Chileans living in the Islands and two of them belong “to our national soccer team”. Ross also admitted spending most of his holidays in Chile.
Finally when asked about Liberation Day ceremony, MLA Ross said “it’s not exactly a commemoration: it’s an important day for us but it’s not a festivity. There are religious services, followed by a military parade with groups of young people who march up to the Liberation Monument”.
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Read all comments“sovereignty is not negotiable, and from the Argentine point of view, negotiations means taking all of it. The ancestors of Falklanders have been in the Islands for 170 years. My family arrived in 1842, I’m sixth generation. We didn’t expel any original communities, any aborigines; we have a discrepancy on that. The fact is that Argentines are not polite neighbours with nobody. I’m thankful for every drop of water that separates us from them”
Jun 15th, 2010 - 03:48 am 0Well that pretty well rules out any negotiations in the foreseeable future! I also note that the UK is now only concerned with defence, foreign relations appear to have been passed to the islanders.
The reliability of Argentina's neighbours viz a viz treaties and expressions of support may soon be tested. I wonder what Barzil will do?
The book The last Colonies by Robert Aldrich and John Connell page 200
Jun 15th, 2010 - 04:18 am 01833 ' The Brithish commander raise the Union Jack, claimed possession of the islands and expelled the Argentinians.
The Falklands officially became a Crown colony in 1840, a governor and a few Scotsmen arrived to establish a Brithish pastoral settlement. Argentina hotly disputed the Brithish takeover, and Buenos Aires made continual diplomatic representations over the next 150 years to recover the islands”
Marco - your authors are being dramatic, but they aren't very good historians ... check out the REAL diary of Charles Darwin. He was on the Falklands in March 1833 and recorded details of the population in his diary, i.e.
Jun 15th, 2010 - 05:58 am 0March 1st 1833
“ We arrived early in the morning at Port Louis, the most Eastern point of the Falkland Islands: The first news we received was to our astonishment, that England had taken possession of the Falklands islands & that the Flag was now flying. — These islands have been for some time uninhabited, untill the Buenos Ayres Government, a few years since claimed them & sent some colonists. — Our government remonstrated against this, & last month the Clio arrived here with orders to take possession of the place. — A Buenos ayrean man of war was here, at the time, with some fresh colonists. — Both they & the vessel returned to the Rio Plata. — The present inhabitants consist of one Englishman, who has resided here for some years, & has now the charge of the British flag, 20 Spaniards & three women, two of whom are negresses. — The island is abundantly stocked with animals. — there are about 5000 wild oxen, many horses, & pigs. — Wild fowl, rabbits, & fish in the greatest plenty. — Europaean vegetables will grow. — And as there is an abundance of water & good anchorage; it is most surprising that it has not been long ago colonized, in order to afford provisions for Ships going round the Horn. — At present it is only frequented by Whalers, one of which is here now.... ”
So 20 of Vernett's workers remained, soon to be joined by a few more, and the newcomers (ie the garrison) left!.
And Darwin was only a passive observer more interested in the flora and fauna than the politics !
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