MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands: “Our relation with Argentina is cyclical, one step forward and two back”

MLA Pollard: “It appears to us that Argentina have a president here that probably cares more about trying to care their economy,” and focus perhaps slightly less on us”

Argentine president Javier Milei has shocked his country's public opinion admitting that the Falkland Islands are still British, but he has not dropped the sovereignty claim and has vowed to recover them, by diplomatic means, in “a long-term process.”

But how do Falkland Islanders feel about the BBC interview with president Milei, in which he also praised the reforms implemented by ex prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who dispatched the Task Force that recovered the Islands for UK.

“Our relation with Argentina is cyclical, when we take one step forward, we often take two steps backward when the government changes again, this is a fairly cyclical relationship...” elected lawmaker MLA Mark Pollard told BBC News commenting Milei's 'softened' statements, contrary to the aggressiveness and bellicose spirit of previous governments.

MLA Pollard went on to say that “it appears to us that Argentina have a president here that probably cares more about trying to care their economy and drag their people out of poverty, which can be a good thing for millions of people, and focus perhaps slightly less on us and the distraction that we are used for to regularly”.

And in terms of what president Milei sais, vowing to get the Islands back through diplomatic channels, and that it may take a long time. “What did you make of that?”

“Well, I think that in terms of the stance we'd rather they stood up and denounced their erroneous claims to our home and talked about removing the sanctions imposed upon us. I mean, we believe that we have the right to self determination here, and whilst they are not talking about any of that, ultimately we will work with what we have, and we do worry that we may make some steps forward in terms of the relationship with the Argentine government under Milei and his softening. But we always have to keep in mind that when we take one step forward, we often take two steps backward when the government changes again, this is a fairly cyclical relationship...”

“Yes, you did have a referendum back in 2013, with an overwhelming support for staying as part of the UK?”

Yes, so the question was not do you want to be British or Argentine. It was asking specifically if we want to remain a British Overseas Territory, and we had a 92% turnout and the electorate voted 99,8% to remain a BOT. So certainly my mandate as an elected member of the Falklands Legislative is very clear.

BBC News then asks, how does it feel having this issue hanging over you all the time?

“It's always there and it never goes away. I mean we are outnumbered by thousands to one. We are a tiny sort of peace loving population trying to carve out a living and doing so very successfully.

”We are financially self sufficient except for the defense we are required to have because of the huge neighbor we have sort of looming above us. But we see it more often as a distraction than not. I mean I grew up here in the Falklands with the scars of the war really all around me....”