Members of the Legislative Assembly are disappointed to hear of Argentina’s decision to put an end to the “Foradori-Duncan Pact” of 2016. This pact looked at improving relations on trade and security between the UK and Argentina but it also ensured the agreement to identify the remains of the unknown Argentine soldiers buried near Darwin.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly wrote on Twitter that the Falkland “islanders have the right to decide their own future: they have chosen to remain an autonomous British Overseas Territory,” and therefore “the Falkland Islands are British.”
Argentina and the UK together with the International Committee of the Red Cross subscribed on Thursday in Geneva the international instruments to advance in the search and identification of a possible interment at the Teal Inlet, in the Falkland Islands, that could hold remains of non identified Argentine combatants.
Since the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) first began DNA work in 2017 to identify unknown Argentine soldiers buried in the islands, the Falkland Islands Government has continued to uphold both its humanitarian principles and commitment to the Geneva Convention.
Higher fines to those illegally fishing in Argentine waters, including around the Malvinas Islands, is directed to discourage poachers, indicated Argentine foreign minister Felipe Solá who also defended the decision to interrupt the exchange of fisheries information on the South Atlantic bio-mass with the United Kingdom and the Falklands.
A UK/Falklands-Argentina meeting of the South Atlantic Scientific Sub-Committee scheduled for January is “unlikely” to take place, the Falklands lawmaker MLA Teslyn Barkman told Penguin News. The prospect of this happening and “taking Britain out of the comfort zone enjoyed” until now, had been advanced by Mercopress.
The Argentine government has called back to Buenos Aires two ambassadors who were instrumental in the drafting and implementation of the 2016 Foradori-Duncan communiqué which opened the way for a more constructive relationship between Argentina and the UK, in a raft of issues, including those in the South Atlantic and the disputed Falklands Islands.
The administration of Argentine president Alberto Fernandez will implement an integral policy towards the Malvinas Islands, Antarctica and the South Atlantic because it wants to emphasize the maritime projection of Argentina and the fact that it is a bi-continental territory.
Argentina has requested “most discretion” for the coming Wednesday air link and first flight between Sao Paulo and the Falkland Islands, suggesting no officials be present at the departure. The news was revealed by one of Brazil's main dailies and allegedly the request arrived through informal diplomatic channels from the Argentine foreign ministry.
By Facundo Rodriguez (*) - It's now been three years since the British and Argentine governments signed the Foradori-Duncan agreement and committed to taking “appropriate measures to remove all obstacles limiting the economic growth and sustainable development” of the Falkland/Malvinas Islands.