MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Welsh nationalist party rebuffs Argentine approach on Falklands’ dispute
MP Elfyn Llwyd and Westminster leader of Plaid Cymru party confirmed he met two Argentine diplomats Diplomats from the Argentine embassy in London invited senior representatives from Plaid Cymru, for talks in the past six months, reports The Daily Telegraph.
Elfyn Llwyd MP, the Westminster leader of the Welsh nationalist Plaid Cymru party, met two senior Argentine diplomats for coffee.
Mr Llwyd confirmed the meeting had taken place, but he said he firmly rebuffed the approach to join Argentina’s campaign.
He told The Daily Telegraph that he had “no interest” in helping the South American country with its battle to win support for its claim to the islands.
He said: “I expressed no interest in getting involved in this fraught matter. They were trying to get me to introduce them to sympathetic MPs.”
The Falklands Islands Government is planning to hold a referendum next year in a bid to see off the increasingly aggressive claim from Argentina on the islands.
Buenos Aires is thought to have been trying to capitalize on historical links between Wales and Argentina.
In Patagonia, in the south of the country, a dialect of the Welsh language is spoken among thousands of ex-patriots descendants of Welsh ancestors who first settled there in 1865.
The settlers built Welsh chapels and their descendants even organize a regular cultural festival. In 2004, the Welsh speakers in Argentina asked to access Welsh television programs to encourage the growth of the language.
During the Falklands War between Britain and Argentina 30 years ago, there were Welsh language speakers in both sets of troops.
Top Comments
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Read all commentsJust goes to show the ignorance and incompetence of the Argentines. The attack on Sir Galahad in 1982 resulted in 48 dead and scores injured, many horrifically burned. The vast majority of those men were Welsh Guards. Bearing this in mind why on earth would MP's representing the Welsh people ever support the fallacious arguments of the Argentine Government?
Jun 21st, 2012 - 06:17 am 0You have to give credit to Argentina for thinking ahead. The break up the United Kingdom would provide a wonderful opportunity for them to further exploit all that multinational resentment and vindictiveness against the power behind the former British Empire. The trouble is that no Welsh politician of this generation can afford to be seen to provide any succour to Argentina following what happened to the Welsh Guards in 1982.
Jun 21st, 2012 - 06:17 am 0Lord the Argies are desperate.
Jun 21st, 2012 - 06:30 am 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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