MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands are “most satisfied with Chile links and excellent health services”
“Our economy is strong enough to allow us to chose where we wish to send our students, and patients demanding services we can't supply in the Falklands” 
Columns from Martin Dinatale, outlined some of the ideas the new government of president Macri is considering in its more amicable relation with Falklands' people. 
Minister Malcorra believes a new approach with the Falklands should include scholarships, sanitary emergencies and even direct air links with Argentina 
As to flights from Argentina, most probably they will not be accepted by the people of the Falklands, said MLA Gavin Short Falkland Islanders are very satisfied with the Chile links and health services in Santiago, was the first reply to media speculations in the Buenos Aires media regarding possible changes in the Argentine government attitude and policies towards the disputed Falklands.
In the last few weeks a couple of columns from a respected Argentine journalist, Martin Dinatale, in La Nacion, outlined some of the alleged ideas the new government of president Mauricio Macri is considering in its more amicable relation with the Falklands' people.
In what seems a test balloon Dinatale said foreign minister Susana Malcorra believes a new approach with the Falklands should expand scholarships in Argentine universities, offer Argentine hospitals for complicated cases and surgeries, sanitary emergencies, thus avoiding having to fly patients to UK or Chile, and even improved direct air links.
However elected lawmaker MLA Gavin Short told the Chilean media that so far, the Falklands have not seen any differences, since “all that which was set up by the previous government, seems to have remained in place”.
“The scholarships are not new. They were offered by the late Kirchner government and so far, I believe, no one in the Islands has accepted one. The ideas put forward are not new”, said MLA Short.
Furthermore “our economy is strong enough to allow us to chose where we wish to send our students, and patients demanding services we can't supply in the Falklands”.
Likewise “we are most pleased and satisfied with our Chilean clinics contacts and the health services we receive in Chile are excellent”. As to the Falklands' students, “our children normally continue their professional and tertiary studies in the UK, but if they wish, they can chose any university in any part of the world...We see no need or feel inclined to tie ourselves with Argentina for any reason”
As to flights from Argentina, most probably they will not be accepted by the people of the Falklands.
“Certainly we would celebrate more flights from our friends in South America, but my opinion is that flights from Argentina would not be accepted by the people of the Falklands, since Buenos Aires still has very much active its hostile claim over our country. We are not going to get indebted with such a country”, underlined MLA Short.
Top Comments
Disclaimer & comment rules-
-
-
Read all commentsYour lands, your choice,
May 26th, 2016 - 10:13 am 0who in there right minds would want to be friends with a country that wants to destroy you.
Chile has long (and friendly) links with the Falklands. Many of the people living in Punta Arenas can trace their lineage to islanders. The sheep industry in southern Chile that provided meat and wool to the UK was started with Falkland sheep. There is a new regional hospital in Punta Arenas that is available for treating the islanders, who also receive significant low-tax advantages (paying no IVA) in the Punta Arenas zona franca.
May 26th, 2016 - 02:02 pm 0Argentina really doesn't have much to offer the islanders except grief and an occasional visit by Natasha Niebieskikwiat .
Come to think of it, the development of southern Argentina was also due to the sheep industry that was introduced and developed by the Falkland islanders who came to Argentina and made it productive.
I have always thought by reading the media, basically based on what the islanders and the British Foreign Office said, that there is an economic, and diplomatic, argentine blockade that damaged the islanders and make them angry. Noone can blame on Argentina about the islanders's decisions...
May 26th, 2016 - 02:12 pm 0I have always said that argentine moderate positions would denude the extreme positions on the islands. Nothing better than extreme positions in Argentina to justify extreme postures in the Islands and the United Kingdom. They are both of the very same kind. They need each other.
Ignoring the islanders and the islands might and acting as if they don't exist be the best solution for Argentina.
Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!