The following article from Mr. Andres Cisneros is a reply to “Unilateral Facts II” (MP Feb. 12th) by Dr. Graham Pascoe and Peter Pepper. The first piece of this enriching exchange (Unilateral Facts) from Dr. Pascoe and Mr. Pepper was published in the BA Herald January 21st and a first reply from Mr. Cisneros (Unilateral Facts, indeed), Feb 6th in MP.
Mr. Andres Cisneros’s reply to the article “Unilateral Facts” by Dr. Graham Pascoe and myself last Sunday in the BA Herald, (Jan 21st and Feb 6th in MP), does not answer our points adequately. Our article was specifically about Argentina’s hypocrisy in using UN Resolution 31/49 to criticise Britain’s acts as “unilateral”. Instead he launches a general anti-British diatribe, and makes a number of errors. The worst are as follows.
Argentina reaffirmed Monday its “imprescriptible” sovereignty rights over the Malvinas and other South Atlantic islands and considers “incomprehensible” the British negative to find a peaceful and definitive solution to the controversy as mandated by the international community.
The Argentine Government yesterday rejected recent declarations of the British Prime Minister David Cameron who said that he would not negotiate over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands despite insistent claims from the South American country.
The Mercosur summit approved Thursday a declaration protesting “formally and energetically” UK’s decision to hold military exercises in the Malvinas islands and reiterated support for Argentina’s sovereignty claim over the South Atlantic Islands.
Argentina renewed this week its sovereignty claims over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands and accused the United Kingdom of deliberately not complying with the International Maritime Organization regulations by exposing the security of shipping in the South Atlantic.
New cables released by the website Wikileaks and published by the Spanish newspaper El País state the US Secretary of State worries in June 2009 about the sudden change in the language of Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's government in Antarctica and Falkland/Malvinas Islands case.
The presidents of Unasur (Union of South American Nations) meeting at a summit in Guyana paid homage to former president Nestor Kirchner, agreed to incorporate a “democratic clause” to the group’s charter, left for next month a decision on who will be named the next secretary general and had a special mention to the Falklands/Malvinas sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the UK. Argentina also revealed that the post should be occupied by an Argentine.
The Brazilian government questioned UK’s “unilateral actions” regarding the (Falklands) Malvinas Islands and called for the sovereignty “long standing dispute” to reach “as soon as possible a solution”.
Argentina claimed sovereignty over the Malvinas and South Atlantic Islands and criticized UK’s unilateral actions in fisheries and hydrocarbons during the signing on Saturday of a defence cooperation and development agreement with South Africa.