Senior members from the Falkland Islands government have left for Norway and the Shetland Islands on an experiences-fact-finding mission as the Islands prepare for oil production in the near future.
The Falkland Islands government complained on Tuesday that the Chairman of the UN Decolonization Committee, Ambassador Diego Morejón Pazmiño is not acting with the impartiality that his role demands and revealed a letter, which remains unanswered, inviting the ambassador to visit the Falklands matching his informative trip to Argentina on the sovereignty of the Islands dispute.
By Alicia Dunkley-Willis (*) - With commercial oil production projected to commence in 2017 for the 3,000 population Falkland Islands, efforts are now underway to ensure that the impending wealth does not upset the order here.
The referendum to decide the political future of the Falkland Islands will be done under the scrutiny of a whole series of international observers come early 2013, Legislative Assembly member Dr Barry Elsby has said.
The Falkland Islands don’t expect Argentina to accept the results of the coming referendum, but will show the rest of the world, particularly South and Central America that the Islands are a democracy and have the right to self determination, said Falklands’ lawmakers in an interview with the Mexican newspaper Excelsior.
The Argentine blockade can’t stop the Falkland Islands and “if Argentina believes that these aggressions are going to change the mind and spirit of the Islanders, they are dead wrong, much on the contrary”, said Falklands’ lawmakers currently visiting Guatemala on a tour of Central America and Mexico.
Politicians and opinion formers are genuinely interested to hear about the Falkland Islands and plans for the coming referendum said lawmakers from the Islands who recently participated at the Parlamericas, (Parliamentarians for the Americas) conference in Panama City (*).
“Who else but us can decide on our future” said Falkland Islands representatives currently visiting several Latin American countries, who anticipated that next year’s referendum on the Islands political status will send the world a clear forceful message on “our right to self determination”.
Britain's Premier Oil announced on Thursday a 1 billion dollars deal to farm in and develop Rockhopper Exploration oil and gas discoveries in the Falkland Islands.
By Dr. Barry Elsby - The Falkland Islands are home to a thriving community. In the face of escalating rhetoric, that community must have the right to determine its own future, argues Dr Barry Elsby MLA