MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands and 'holdouts' in Argentine lawmakers agenda, coming visit to London

Senator Ruperto Godoy and Ricrdo Carmona will be heading the group scheduled for the official visit next October.

A group of Argentine lawmakers will be travelling next month to the UK, on an official visit to meet with British officials and members of Parliament, a trip which has been described as 'historic' because it is a 'first time' since the end of the South Atlantic conflict such an invitation is extended.

The issues which the Argentine delegation will address, according to Buenos Aires sources are, the question of Falklands/Malvinas and the country's current battle with the holdouts that have forced Argentina into a selective default.

”It's a historic visit and we hope it will help to open dialogue with Britain on the question of the Malvinas and that they understand our position regarding the 'vulture funds' (holdout speculative funds)”, according to Argentine foreign ministry sources involved in the organization of the trip.

At the other end Argentine ambassador Alicia Castro is completing the agenda for the October 20/24 visit that includes interviews with Conservative, Liberal and Labor MPs, NGOs and Latin-American studies centers in different universities. There has been no word as to a possible meeting with members of PM David Cameron top officials.

The heads of the foreign affairs committees from the Lower House and the Senate, Ricardo Carmona and Ruperto Godoy, (hard line Kirchnerites) will head the group which will also include lawmakers from the government coalition and the opposition.

Actually the trip in more in the framework of the regular activities of the Inter-parliamentarian Union, and in this case in reciprocity to the visit last year of British politicians, including Robert Walter, Baroness Hooper, Baroness Stern; Baroness Smith from Basildon, Mark Menzies and Chris Bryant, who spent time in Buenos Aires where they met peers, NGOs and even a brief encounter with foreign minister Hector Timerman.

On the issue of the question of the Malvinas, although the Argentine delegation has pledged to insist on the need for sovereignty talks, it is also anticipated that the official line from British political parties is that there is a third leg to the discussion, the Falkland Islanders and it's up to them to decide on the matter.

Nevertheless although it has not been announced it is expected that Daniel Filmus, head of the Malvinas Affairs Desk at the foreign ministry will also be part of the group travelling to London in October.

On the holdouts' issue the Argentine group will thank the 100 British MPs from the Jubilee Debt Coalition (Drop the Debt) who openly and strongly supported Argentina in its battle with the speculative funds.

Sarah-Jayne Clifton, head of the Jubilee Debt Coalition together with a wide spectrum of MPs a few months ago stated that “the vulture funds never lent a penny to Argentina; they speculated with debt bonds hoping for a huge profit”.

This statement was much appreciated by the Argentine government and the K lawmakers want to make the most out of it in the battle against the holdouts, as Argentina collects all possible international support for its position in the dispute.

However the UK, together with the US and nine other countries voted against the position sponsored by Argentina before the UN General Assembly together with another 124 countries demanding international rules and guarantees for future restructuring of sovereign debts.

The UK position in the UN vote however is not unanimous not even in the Conservative-Liberal coalition according to Argentine diplomatic sources.