A Falkland Islands delegation concluded this week a very successful visit to Colombia where they not only met with local authorities and lawmakers but also addressed the Lower House of Congress and were able to express loud and clear the Islanders’ message born out of the recent referendum in which they overwhelmingly voted to remain a British Overseas Territory.
Falklands’ lawmaker Gavin Short regretted on Tuesday in Bolivia that the governments of South America take for granted the Argentine version of the conflict between Argentina and the UK over the Islands sovereignty without ever having listened to the other side.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez marked Tuesday's 31st anniversary of the start of the Falklands War by again demanding that Britain agree to discuss sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands.
“I THINK there is no doubt that the Argentine Government will continue to look for opportunities to pull stunts of one kind or another.”
The speaker was Dr Peter Hayes, the Director of the FCO’s Overseas Territories Directorate who was paying a short visit to the Falkland Islands last week.
Foreign minister Luis Almagro said on Wednesday that Malvinas Islands’ sovereignty belongs to the whole of Latinamerica and as part of Latinamerica and the Caribbean, “we will defend the territorial integrity of the continent”.
Argentine ambassador in London Alicia Castro revealed she has been meeting with Welsh MPs for the potential organization of the 150th anniversary of Welsh settlers in Patagonia in 2015. However Welsh sources said initial discussions broke down because the Argentine representatives were seeking people supportive of their views in the Falkland Islands dispute.
Argentina's Foreign minister Hector Timerman together with Latam representatives called on UN chief Ban Ki Moon and demanded talks with the UK on the Falklands/Malvinas Islands sovereignty, but Britain again refused, pointing to the Islanders' overwhelming vote this month to remain British.
Argentina this coming week will be meeting in New York with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, with the support of top regional officials to renew its long-standing demand that the UK sits to discuss with Argentina the Falklands/Malvinas sovereignty dispute.
By Professor Klaus Dodds & Dr Alasdair Pinkerton - The celebrations on Arch Green, outside the Falkland Islands’ Stanley Cathedral, on Monday 11 March, revealed the strength of emotion and passion that has circulated around this referendum process, ever since it was announced in June 2012.
By James Kirchick (*) - Americans might wonder why they should care about the fate of a tiny set of islands closer to Antarctica than to Florida, where penguins outnumber humans by more than 300 to 1. But the fate of the Falkland Islands — whose citizens expressed a near-unanimous desire to remain part of the United Kingdom this month — will set an important precedent for the universal principle of self-determination