MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina recalls 1833 Malvinas ‘dislodgement’ and demands bilateral dialogue

Foreign Affairs minister Hector Timerman

Argentina ratified Tuesday its ‘imprescriptible” sovereignty rights over the Malvinas, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands and adjoining maritime spaces and blasted the UK for not abiding by UN resolutions calling for bilateral talks.

According to a release from the Argentine Foreign Affairs ministry on 3 January 1833 the Islas Malvinas were occupied by British forces which “dislodged the Argentine population and authorities legitimately established in the Islands, replacing them with subjects from the occupying power”.

Argentina immediately protested the illegitimate act of force “which persists without being consented at any moment”, underlines the release.

The 179 year illegitimate British colonial occupation is aggravated by “the provocative and continued disregard for International Law expressed in the persistent reluctance to resume sovereignty negotiations as mandated by the UN Resolution 2065 and nine other resolutions that followed”.

“The illegitimacy is even more aggravated by the presence of a military base in the South Atlantic alleging false defence needs as well as the constant display of illegitimate unilateral activities in the disputes zone”.

These activities refer to the spoliation of renewable and non renewable resources in the area and the display of military exercises including launching missiles from the Malvinas Islands.

Further on the release recalls the unanimous rejection to the British military presence in the South Atlantic and unilateral activities which has been repeatedly expressed by regional organizations such as Mercosur, Unasur and the recently created Celac, plus other groups such as the association of Arab and South American countries, association of South American and African countries and the Group of 77 plus China.

Finally the Argentine government “reiterates once again on the 179 anniversary of the plunder, its standing and sincere disposition to resume the bilateral negotiation process with the UK, as is claimed by the international community, to find a peaceful and definitive solution to the sovereignty dispute and this way put an end to an anachronistic situation, incompatible with the evolution of the current post colonial world”.