The following column by Alicia Castro (*) was published 02 April by the Independent - On 24 March, the day that a debate was held in Parliament over the increase in defense expenditure for the Malvinas Islands, Argentina was commemorating the anniversary of the 1976 military coup.
British ex Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has made a powerful intervention in the campaign to grant Chagossians the right to return to their homeland, reports the UK Chagos Support Association.
The leader of thousands of displaced Chagos islanders fighting Britain for a return to their Indian Ocean archipelago (Diego García) has said they will wage a joint diplomatic battle alongside Argentina as it seeks sovereignty over the Falklands, according to a report from The Telegraph credited to Hannah Strange.
By Alicia Castro, Argentine ambassador in London - Ms Castro writes a column in The Guardian to complain about the appointment of Colin Roberts as the next Falkland Islands governor and unearths some Wikileaks cables referred to the incoming governor's attitude regarding the Chagos islanders forced eviction, and plans to ensure they will never be returned by declaring the vast area a 'marine park' allegedly questioned by US diplomacy.
Argentina's Foreign minister Hector Timerman will receive on Tuesday Olivier Bancoult, president of the Chagos Refugees Group, the entity which represents the 'Chagossians' forcibly ousted from their lands by the United Kingdom. The administration of President Cristina Fernandez pretends to expose contradictions in the UK's approach to the Chagos case and the Falklands sovereignty dispute.
Argentina questioned the UK after its negative vote at the United Nations General Assembly to place French Polynesia back on the UN list of non autonomous territories that should be decolonised Additionally Argentina renewed its claim over the Falkland Islands sovereignty and described the UK attitude, ‘colonial hypocrisy’.
Australia says it will create the world's largest network of marine parks ahead of the Rio+20 summit. The reserves will cover 3.1 million sq km of ocean, including the Coral Sea.