The Argentine congress is holding on Wednesday an extraordinary session to strongly reject the resounding Falklands/Malvinas referendum in which the Islanders overwhelmingly voted to remain a British Overseas Territory. Two statements have been drafted and will be discussed simultaneously at the Lower House and the Senate.
UK Primer Minister David Cameron called on Argentina to respect the wishes of Falkland Islanders, who have overwhelmingly voted to stay as a British Overseas Territory and invited other countries across the world that are guided by self-determination to also respect and revere the very clear results.
The following opinion column from Argentine ambassador Alicia Castro in UK was published Monday in The Guardian.
By Sir Peter Westmacott (*) - Where in the world can you celebrate Margaret Thatcher Day with five kinds of wild penguins? Nowhere but in the Falkland Islands, a windswept archipelago in the South Atlantic that’s about the same area as Connecticut but has a population of only 3.100. This weekend, these small islands with a big personality face a momentous choice: a referendum to decide their political future.
Falkland Islands members of the Legislative Assembly have stressed the absolute need for a big turn out next March 10/11 when the Islanders will de deciding on their political status and future.
Falkland Islands Governor Nigel Haywood accused Argentina of “making stuff up” in its relentless verbal assault on the UK and the Islands. With a referendum on whether the Islanders want to remain British less than a week away, Haywood vowed to keep “pushing back” against the “extraordinary” sabre-rattling, UK’s sensationalist tabloid The Sun published.
Falkland Islands lawmakers met on Wednesday morning with Foreign Secretary William Hague and regretted the absence of Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman but also understand Argentina’s deep concern with “our (March) referendum, which is why they spend so much time dismissing it”.
Britain will meet shareholders from explorer Rockhopper to discuss the Falkland Islands and the location for the company's proposed 2 billion dollars oil project based on recent discovery estimates.
The Falkland Islands are determined to exercise their right to self determination and to remain a British Overseas Territory, a message to the international community that tells of the success story of the Falklands in spite of the attempts by the government of Argentina to impede sectors of the economy, said Falklands’ elected legislator Roger Edwards addressing a UN seminar on eradication of colonialism.