The recent visit of the tall-ship Europa to Stanley harbour and its current cruise around South Georgia brings back memories of a by-gone era, the days of sail and tall ships, exploration and the Cape Horn trade-routes.
Mercosur latest decision to bar all Falkland Islands flagged vessels from entering its ports is “more symbolic” than anything else because a change of flag is enough, according to Uruguay’s Ports Authority, ANP President Alberto Díaz.
The Falkland Islands weekly Penguin News reports in its last edition that two Argentine aircraft carrying fourteen passengers for a cruise ship docked in Stanley landed last Saturday in the Islands Mount Pleasant Airport.
Following the article published in “The Independent” dated 22nd December 2011, entitled “Time to talk about the Falklands”, the people of the Falkland Islands would like to make the following response.
By John Fowler for Penguin News, Stanley, Falkland Islands - My first contact with Latin America came in 1971, when my wife and I spent four days in Montevideo while waiting for a ship to carry us to the Falkland Islands. We received such amazing hospitality and kindness from the Uruguayans we met then, that this small, but perfectly-formed country has had a place in my heart ever since.
One day after the summit in Montevideo, Uruguay criticized the functioning of Mercosur, particularly the lack of cooperation, trade barriers and impediments and delays to essential infrastructure works for the group.
In an Opinion piece, “Time to talk about the Falklands”, The Independent suggests the time might have come to defuse the situation in the South Atlantic and take up last year’s offer from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to broker between Britain and Argentina.
“We will always maintain our commitment to you on any question of sovereignty because your right to self-determination is the cornerstone of our policy”, said British Prime Minister David Cameron in his Christmas message to the Falkland Islands.
Argentina’s CGT Labour Confederation leader Hugo Moyano stated on Thursday that, “our relationship with the Government is not broken, just suspended as the President (Cristina Fernandez) wishes,” during a press meeting with international news correspondents.
After statements published by the English newspaper “The Daily Mail,” in which the former head of the Navy, Lord Alan West, said that a nuclear submarine should be sent to the Malvinas Islands, the United Kingdom assured it does not plan to increase the military presence in the Islands.