MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine Senate and House of Commons absorbed by Falklands’ debate

International Security Strategy minister Gerald Howarth: “military deterrent up to the task”

A new round of exchanges on the Falklands/Malvinas dispute took place on Thursday when an Argentine Senate Committee unanimously voted in favour of debating a declaration bill “strongly repudiating” British Prime Minister David Cameron’s “colonialist” statements, while a British minister accused Argentina of “sabre-rattling.”

After meeting at the Arturo Illia room, the Committee, working along with Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman drafted up the bill and voted in favour of discussing it on the Upper House floor in its first ordinary session next February.

“The Honourable Senate declares that it strongly repudiates David Cameron’s recent statements, which are part of a permanent rejection to a United Nation’s mandate, urging Argentina and the United Kingdom to resume negotiations in order to reach a solution to the current dispute over the Malvinas Islands sovereignty,” the bill reads.

The document also “condemns all acts implying the exploration or exploitation of renewable and non-renewable natural resources in a territory illegally and militarily occupied by a foreign power.”

As the verbal escalation continues, a member of the British Parliament accused Argentine of “sabre-rattling” and assured that the UK armed forces would have to stand up to a new eventual offensive against the Falklands.

The Minister for International Security Strategy Gerald Howarth made these statements in the House of Commons after a senior conservative MP asked him whether the recent cuts in Defence were damaging the United Kingdom’s capability to defend the Islands sovereignty.

“You raise concerns which are widespread around the country, particularly in light of the sabre-rattling by Argentina,” he said.

“All the advice we have is that there is neither the capability nor the intention by the Argentines to repeat the folly of 1982 and that the military deterrent that we have is up to the task,” he continued.

Earlier on Thursday the Argentine Government reiterated that they “will continue to raise the Malvinas issue across all forums.” They also underlined the demonstrations of support Argentina has received from other countries regarding the issue.

“Yesterday, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner made it very clear that Argentina is to continue bringing up the issue across all forums, in political and geopolitical terms,“ stated Vice-President Amado Boudou.

”One thing that we all know is: The Malvinas belong to Argentina,” Boudou reiterated to the press, before taking part in a promotional event for Mendoza’s ‘National Wine Harvesting Celebration’ in Mar del Plata.

Kirchnerite Senator Daniel Filmus, who’s next to be ratified as head of the Upper House’s Foreign Affairs committee, had also weighted in on the issue.

“Our main goal is to repudiate statements made by the United Kingdom Prime Minister (David Cameron) accusing Argentina of colonialism/imperialism, and make sure that the sovereignty claims are part of a State policy.”

Likewise, Filmus revealed that the release will also aim to thank all Mercosur members that showed their support to the Argentine claim, and decided to ban all Falklands’ flagged vessels from regional ports.