MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
UK reaffirms Falklands’ sovereignty: ‘they are British and not negotiable’
The statement was in reply to the G77 plus China, currently chaired by Argentina, statement The UK has no doubts about Falkland Islands sovereignty: ‘they are British and they are not negotiable’, said on Monday a Foreign Office spokesperson in reply to a Sunday statement from the G77 plus China calling on Argentina and UK to resume sovereignty negotiations over the South Atlantic Islands.
“Our position on the Falklands is well known. We have no doubts on our sovereignty over the Islands”, said the FCO spokesperson. “It is based on the right to self determination, which means that as long as the people of the Falklands want to remain British, we shall support that position”.
In their final statement Foreign Affairs ministers from the G77 and China meeting in New York on the sidelines of the UN assembly and chaired by Argentina, for the first time included a reference to the South Atlantic islands dispute.
“All of us ministers insist on the need to have the Argentine and the British governments to return to negotiations, in accordance with the principles and goals stated in the UN Charter and the pertinent resolutions reached during the General Assembly in order to swiftly find a peaceful solution to the Malvinas Islands sovereignty dispute” read the statement.
In spite of the statement the FCO spokesperson underlined the “very good and productive” relation of the UK with Argentina in other fields and downplayed last week’s threat from Argentine president Cristina Fernandez, before the UN General Assembly, regarding the cancelling of bilateral provisional agreements, particularly flights between the Falklands and the South American continent (Rio Gallegos in Santa Cruz province), if London does not abide UN resolutions and sits to discuss the Falklands/Malvinas question.
“I think the air link currently flies many Argentine tourists and people close to those who were involved in the Falklands conflict (1982), which is something to keep in mind as well as the fact that the people of the Falklands wish to co exist peacefully with their South American neighbours”, added the spokesperson.
The air link flown by Lan Chile once a week carries passengers and goods between MPA in the Falklands and Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile. The UK/Falklands/Argentina 1999 agreement which established the current link also stipulates that once a month one of the weekly flights would also stop in Rio Gallegos.
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Read all commentsSidelines ??
Sep 27th, 2011 - 05:25 am 0Some say 'insist', some say 'urge', the official web site of the G77 says nothing at all! Maybe something got lost in translation?
Others say - Sod Off ! (no problem with translation I hope :-)
http://lordton1955.wordpress.com/2011/09/27/argentine-belligerence/
http://lordton1955.wordpress.com/2011/09/27/argentine-belligerence/
the world but Europe and of course the UK say the UK is ignoring UN principles and resolutions.
Sep 27th, 2011 - 07:47 am 0the rest of the world must be daft if they don't interpret the UN charter in the same manner as the UK...
so aside from calling the rest of the world ignorants, in their arrogance they now downplay the legitimacy of the Argentine claim by alleging its a political campaign strategy.
someone please make the UK world leaders de-facto! they see and interpret stuff in ways everyone else fails to see. what a bunch of illuminated individuals!
It's sad Argentina abandoned its old policy of trying to slowly build trust and relations with the islanders after the war with Britain. The problem is the issue is such an irresistible weapon for politicians to use during election campaigns, because it's the one thing that unites the entire nation. It would be a waste for the political class to keep the dispute in the background, when provocative language, threats and talk of injustice can rally the support of the nation. Ultimately though, the issue is just another example of short-term decisions taken by leaders in Argentina hurting the longer-term potential of a fruitful future.
Sep 27th, 2011 - 08:25 am 0So unfortunate Argentina was never willing to go the distance with the Mr. Smoothie tactics of maintaining communication with islanders, trying to help them achieve objectives and build links. Who knows, if Argentina had persisted with relationship building then people living on the islands may today have cared at least as much about avoiding offending neighbouring Argentines, as they do the British 6,000 miles away. That in itself would be some measurable progress to build upon, while admittedly still falling way short of Argentina's ultimate objectives.
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