MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Joint poll shows ‘Falklands/Malvinas’ issue is ‘important’ for Argentines, but only ‘relevant’ for Brits
Argentines give more importance than the British to the Falklands/Malvinas sovereignty issue, according to the first public opinion on the matter done simultaneously in both countries involved. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rules“37% feel the UK should retain sovereignty”.
Apr 12th, 2012 - 02:31 am - Link - Report abuse 0“Furthermore 45% of Argentines feel more supported by the international community in the conflict than the 18% for the British.”
Oh well...
So much for the “brainwashed RG's.”
It should be noted that where the article says “the percentage of those willing to support their governments in the war path is a minority: 26% for the Argentines and 42% for the Brits” that actually refers to 26% of Argentines who would support another act of agression, and 42% of Brits who would support a defence against that act of agression.
Apr 12th, 2012 - 02:42 am - Link - Report abuse 0Prime Minister Thatcher once explained this phenomenon as being due to Argentines being brainwashed from childhood. And I believe she was right. If Argentina were granted proprietorship of the islands, I wonder how many of them would gladly go there and work beside the Brits and as hard as they?
Apr 12th, 2012 - 03:19 am - Link - Report abuse 0@3
Apr 12th, 2012 - 03:47 am - Link - Report abuse 0Do you think before you talk? For the record, I don't believe Argentina should get the islands back while the population there does not desire any change in their jurisdiction.
But Argentine Patagonia has a far harsher climate (more continental with far colder winters and hotter summers), than either the Falklands or the Chilean side of Patagonia that hugs the Pacific... yet IT is by far the more populated of all three regions. But lets not allow the facts to get in the way.
As for the survey, I can tell you as someone well-versed in languages, that it is probably flawed. “Relevant” does not hace the same connotation in Spanish as it does in English. In English, something relevant is “worth serious consideration”. In Spanish it merely has the notion of “just of enough weight to be worthy of discussion”, but could be brushed aside. It is less strong. A word closer in strength would be “significativo” (significant).
Comment removed by the editor.
Apr 12th, 2012 - 04:05 am - Link - Report abuse 05 rebeldenacion
Apr 12th, 2012 - 05:04 am - Link - Report abuse 0you forgot the parties corruptions cameron and cruddas!!ha,ha!!! Thanks cameon thanks cruddas,etc,etc!!
They should have added some notes about the history of the islands to test people's knowledge of them, and then asked the questions i.e. “75% of people who think they should be Argentine also believe the islands are populated by Non-English speakers” It would be nice to be sure the opinions of people considered are those who actually know a bit about the islands before giving their opinions.
Apr 12th, 2012 - 05:18 am - Link - Report abuse 0But Port Stanley, Cruddas got the sack. In Argentina you promote people like that...
Apr 12th, 2012 - 07:45 am - Link - Report abuse 0......and, when polled in the Falklands, 99% of people said it was CRITICAL that the Falklands remains British..........That is probably the only statistic and opinion that is relevant, important and significant.
Apr 12th, 2012 - 08:54 am - Link - Report abuse 0The poll didn't include me or several dozens of my aquaintances; all of whom are definitely and coldly aggressive for what the Islanders want. Distance does not equate with the freedoms of people. Else why the United Nations?
Apr 12th, 2012 - 09:19 am - Link - Report abuse 0Another pointless poll, all it shows is this isn't the number one priority in the UK, sure if Argentina invaded it would be but the UK has a lot going on and things like economic matters are far more in peoples minds at the moment.
Apr 12th, 2012 - 09:42 am - Link - Report abuse 01 Troneas
Apr 12th, 2012 - 10:01 am - Link - Report abuse 0I think you have missed the 89% figure. This shows your government has stirred your passions in recent years and fed you propaganda. Prior to the war, and the Argentine aggression, the only mention of the Falklands I'd heard was the return of the world's first iron hulled ship the SS Great Britain to its home in Bristol, England in 1970. It was left rusting on a Falklands shore. The Falklands did not figure in our mindset until Argentina did the dirty.
The idea of sharing the Islands looks a non starter.
Apr 12th, 2012 - 10:53 am - Link - Report abuse 0It's interesting and necesary to know bout the opinions of people from both sides, but this is evident that both have a very basic knowledge about this conflict. I had read this article in an argentine newspaper.
Apr 12th, 2012 - 11:49 am - Link - Report abuse 0Perhaps both people dont know that the u. n has never asked the u. k to transfer the sovereignty of the islands to argentina, in the same way that it neather invoked the right to self determinations for the islanders, nor expressed that the sovereignty must be discussed only if the islanders wish it. All the resolutions have always called both sides to resume the negotiations and find a peaceful solution, however politicians from both countries always commit omissions or some times distort some aspects which are related to the legal and historic aspects of the conflict, when they reffer this dispute. Maybe that's why both people discard the legitimacy of their counterparts.
That's actually a very good post Axel.
Apr 12th, 2012 - 12:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Politicians often deliberately seek to manipulate their audiences for their own ends. CFK has done it on the Falklands issue just like Tony Blair did it on the weapons of mass destruction that were never found.
The reason there
well distracted Argentina!
Apr 12th, 2012 - 01:11 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The problem with such polls is that few people in the UK under the age of 40 know anything at all about the Falklands or it's history.
Apr 12th, 2012 - 01:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0At the moment the UK suffers from this lack of knowledge among the populace.
“Some woman is banging on about it so much that there must be some validity in her claims” seems to be a general theme.
It hasn't crossed their minds yet that she is a demented nationalist obsessive. If the story and heat does get cranked up a few notches I'm sure you'll find attitudes will change (and harden)
Because the Argentine public has been fed with propaganda by successive governments and not historical facts about the Islands they feel a great injustice is being done. If they had been given a clear historical facts then perhaps they would not feel so hard done by.
Apr 12th, 2012 - 01:54 pm - Link - Report abuse 04 - Troll - Yes, I agree with the final paragraph of your post.
Apr 12th, 2012 - 02:37 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@4 Good point.
Apr 12th, 2012 - 03:25 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I thought 86% was too high for Argentinians.
The poll was effectively asking a different question, it makes sense.
The Falklands sovereignty issue is not relevant to the British as there is NO issue.
Apr 12th, 2012 - 04:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0However, the Argentinians should be aware that any attempts to invade the Falklands, terrorise their people and steal their land would become THE most important issue to the British people. To the people of Argentina, remember the cost of the folly of your government in 1982. Nearly 1000 servicemen killed on both sides, leading to a humiliating defeat for Argentine forces.
The Falklands belong to the Falkland Islanders - end of discussion.
I wonder how many of the sample of those polled were from the 3,000 people whoose views count.
Apr 12th, 2012 - 04:30 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@4 Truth_Telling_Troll
Apr 12th, 2012 - 06:03 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Very informative, thanks.
@15 Xect @14 axel arg
Completely agree about the politicians.
The difference here is that unlike the WMDs in Iraq, the evidence supporting the British version of history does exist.
The British government have been very specific in what they have said about the history of the Islands.
@14 axel arg
Apr 12th, 2012 - 08:01 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Just out of interest, what do you think should happen to the Falkland Islands sovereignty?
We all know how polls can be very manipulative,
Apr 12th, 2012 - 08:16 pm - Link - Report abuse 0So enough said.
Get on with the real facts,
The islands are British, and Argentina or its deluded bloggers have no claim whatsoever,
And you will never get them,
So do us a favour and give the decent argentine people what they rightly deserve,
A real democratic government, that puts their interest first, and forget the Falklands .
1 Troneas Reality Check
Apr 12th, 2012 - 10:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0British people are not very patriotic (corporatism and PC done to that).
Where-as Argentina is fanatically nationalistic, which worries everyone in the neighborhood it's is a train crash waiting to happen, the carriages have already left the track and fanatical groups are tapped into the KFC power base, in the same way the SA was tapped into the Nazi Party!
The average Brit was (sadly) more per-occupied by X factor and other reality tv than the Falklands... one year ago. Today that has changed thanks to the hate coming out of Argentina, now everyone I know wants to bomb Argentine! I noticed on facebook today the link for new friends, when i clicked on it every other person on it seemed to have the Falklands logo as their facebook picture on it coloured by the union flag, the further i scrolled down the fewer of these people had any mutual friends, in other words there is an awakening on the issue happening in the UK... a massive awakening.
In Argentina the Malvinas occupy the waking thoughts of the a large number of the most fanatical of fanatical nationalists (like yourself) NOT HEALTHY, NOT NORMAL. Most of your people are very poorly educated and more any more are radicalising themselves via self indocrination fround on the internet and replicated easily amongst groups via facebook and social media.
It would be like a large percentage of Britain being made up of EDL members constantly dreaming of owning large parts of France, based on a claim made 200 years ago by a “Brazilian” who spontaneously decided to claim parts of France for Britain and celebrating an invasion by a fascist military government who previously had murdered tens of thousands of their members. Argentina is nuts - the normal people have been silenced, or radicalized.
More and more people around the world are finding out about Argentine hate and its claim for other peoples land.
Idlehands...She is not really “a demented nationalist obsessive”. She is a demented power obsessive. Otherwise I agree with your comment. Her next step (sometime in the next few months probably) will be to change the constitution to allow her to be reelected for a third term. Or forever, like Chavez. She uses the Islands issue in a blast of sheer demagoguery.
Apr 12th, 2012 - 11:23 pm - Link - Report abuse 017 Idlehands
Apr 13th, 2012 - 01:04 am - Link - Report abuse 0Couldn't have said it better myself.
26 Anti-Fascist
There's defiantly an awakening taking place.
I think this 66% of Argentinians who think the islands should be returned to Argentina is not very real. I haven't met any argentinian who doesn't thinks that the islands shouldn't be returned.
Apr 13th, 2012 - 05:00 am - Link - Report abuse 0And of course that the issue is ‘important’ for Argentines, but only ‘relevant’ for Brits, I am not surprised. For the Brits is only another far away land where they have taken resources from, one more on the list, there are 16 COLONIAL PLACES remaining in the world and the UK holds most of them.
Not surprising more Britons than Argentines would support military action (26% for the Argentines and 42% for the Brits). Any British military action would be defensive/retalitory, whereas Argentine military action would be unprovoked aggression. Most educated Argentineans know that an attempted invasion would fail. Despite this, 26% would still support an invasion.
Apr 13th, 2012 - 08:00 am - Link - Report abuse 0Though it's encouraging to see a higher proportion of more considerate Argentines than I would have imagined, going by the rhetoric of the majority of Argentine posters on this site, I wonder what the figures would have been like if Argentina had the military capability to achieve its wishes by force.
Personally, pre 1982, I would have been inclined to cede some territory to Argentina and share resources, purely as a good will gesture and to end their tiresome squabbling. However, going by their past and current behaviour, it would be very difficult to trust Argentina not to renege on any deal. I'd expect them to use any ceded territory as a base of operations for mass colonisation or military action. Maybe in the future, when their constitution is altered to reflect reality, and their rhetoric changes, the people of the Falkland Islands may trust them. Unfortunately I can't see that in the foreseeable future.
29 Vermin
Apr 13th, 2012 - 01:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0That's either because you're lying or because the only people who know are as insane as you.
I'm conversing with Argentines all the time who believe the Falklands should have the right to determine their own sovereignty. In fact the numbers are astounding, on one facebook page for supporters of the Falklands the Admin posted that there were 569 members listed as living in Argentina. I'd say that's quite a few going out of their way to a page that isn't even that friendly to their countries government to give their support.
I've also been reading some of the posts on the political opposition sites in Argentina but I've noticed that outside of the CFK support people generally see the Falklands issue for what it is, same shit, different face.
29 Vermin
Apr 13th, 2012 - 05:44 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Besides, fairs fair,
If you honestly think you have a claim on there land,
You must then accept, that others may have a claim on your land,
Is this not true,
.
29 fermin
Apr 13th, 2012 - 07:37 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I have met many Argentines who don't believe the islands should be Argentine. How is it that you haven't? Maybe you live a very sheltered existence shielded from outward looking people. Do you travel much? Trans-continentally I mean.
Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!