MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Timerman taking the Falklands’ dispute to London in an event with EU figures

The Argentine Foreign minister and Ambassador Castro

Foreign minister Hector Timerman will be taking the Falklands/Malvinas sovereignty claim to London where next week he is scheduled to meet outstanding figures from 18 European countries that have been calling for a resumption of negotiations, according to a release from the Argentine embassy in UK.

The trip coincides, according to the Argentine version of events, with the 180th anniversary of the ‘illegitimate usurpation’ of the Malvinas Islands by the British and a month before the Falkland Islanders appealing to their self-determination right will be holding a referendum to decide on the Islands political status and future, March 10/11.

The Timerman delegation will also include Senator Daniel Filmus and Deputy Guillermo Carmona chairpersons of the Foreign Relations committees in the Argentine congress two chambers.

According to the official release the presentation by Minister Timerman will be based on “Argentina’s historic rights over the Islands and why the right to self determination is not applicable in this case” as claimed by the Falkland Islanders and the Foreign Office.

The event on February 6 and 7 will take place at the residence of Ambassador Alicia Castro in London.

Last week in Santiago de Chile in the framework of the European Union/CELAC (Community of Latinamerican and Caribbean States) summit the Euro-Latinamerican Parliamentary Assembly approved a document recommending the leaders “to favour dialogue for a peaceful, fair and lasting peace” in the Falklands/Malvinas sovereignty dispute as indicated by several UN resolutions.

The document with 39 points which includes the Falklands recommendation (point 36) was later delivered by the lawmakers as a “message” to all leaders at the Chile summit.

The text which according to Argentine sources represented ‘unprecedented support’ for Buenos Aires in its dispute with the UK over the Falklands’ sovereignty was first approved by the Commission of Political Affairs, Security and Human Rights from the Euro-Lat assembly. The initiative was sponsored by Senator Daniel Filmus a member of the assembly.

Apparently the initiative was unanimously supported by all members participating of the Commission with the exception of MP Nicole Sinclaire who abandoned the chamber when the issue was discussed.
In the morning session a stronger statement from the Commission was questioned by MP Sinclaire who openly protested that her peers from Latinamerica during the opening of the Euro-Lat assembly had fervently applauded the speech from co-president Honduran lawmaker Gloria Oqueli when she expressed solidarity with “the Argentine people” on the Malvinas question.

Argentina argues that the Malvinas question “according to the UN is not a matter of self-determination for the occupants of the Islands” in direct reference to the coming March referendum.

“The occupants of the Malvinas are the result of a colonial occupation”, argues Argentina and thus as established by the UN resolutions the question must be addressed by the involved parties (Argentina and UK).

Euro-Lat is a parliamentary institution born from the Bi-regional Strategic Association between the European Union, Latinamerica and the Caribbean created in 2006. It is made up of 75 European MPs and another 75 from regional houses such as the Latinamerican Parliament, the Andean parliament, Mercosur Parliament plus lawmakers from Mexico and Chile.

The other Argentine members of Euo-Lat assembly are Senator Sonia Escudero (vice-president of the bioregional organization), Senators Fabio Biancalani, Adolfo Rodriguez Saá plus the above mentioned Filmus and Carmona.

Nicole “Nikki” Sinclaire is a politician from the UK and belonged to the ‘We demand a Referendum party’. She represents West Midlands as Member of the European Parliament. She was elected MEP in June 2009 as a UK Independence Party candidate but later resigned from the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) group in which UKIP is part of in the European Parliament, citing the alleged extreme right-wing views of some of the group's members. Subsequently Sinclaire sat as an Independent MEP from January 2010 until in September 2012 she set up the “We Demand a referendum” party. Although mainly known for her Eurosceptic policies, Sinclaire has campaigned on issues affecting West Midlands’ people, from jobs and the environment to human rights.
Sinclaire sits on the Committee for Employment and Social Affairs, Committee on Petitions, Subcommittee on Human Rights, Delegation to the EU-Chile Joint Parliamentary Committee, Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly and is a substitute member on the Committee for Women's Rights and Gender Equality.