Argentina condemned the announcement of the arrival of state of the art HMS Dauntless, a British warship, to the Falklands/Malvinas Islands and urged the UK to “avoid falling in the temptation of engaging in discourse that transforms patriotism in bullying patriotism.”
The European Union considers that the new tense situation between Argentina and the UK over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands is a “bilateral issue”, however the Falklands figure under EU treaties as a British Overseas Territory, said the EU Foreign Affairs Representative spokesperson.
Penguin News Deputy Editor John Fowler explains it from the point of view of the people that actually matter - the Islanders.
Overseas Territories Minister Henry Bellingham met representatives of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds on Wednesday, and received a pledge signed by almost 17,000 of their members, asking the UK Government to ensure that the valuable biodiversity of the Overseas Territories is preserved.
The United Kingdom relationship with the Overseas Territories “is based on the choices of the peoples” said Monday British representative Philip Parham before the UN Fourth Committee on Decolonization in response to several statements from Latin American delegates regarding the Falkland Islands and sovereignty discussions with Argentina.
The Falkland Islands Government House launched Wednesday their brand new website to coincide with the launch of the Foreign Office’s Overseas Territories Consultation “Have Your Say”.
The Foreign Office has launched a consultation on a new strategy for the Overseas Territories and is inviting views from people of those Territories and the UK on how to implement the goals.
“Self-determination and self-sufficiency” is the Falkland Islands message to the world on the day the Islands commemorate the 29th anniversary of its liberation, said the Falklands’ government representative in London Sukey Cameron, who added Argentina continues with its campaign to claim sovereignty and disrupt the Falklands economy.
The basic argument between the Falkland Islands and Argentina “begins and ends with self determination”, underlined Martin Longden Deputy Director of Overseas Territories in an interview with Tony Curran published in the Falklands’ weekly Penguin News.
Defining the future relationship of Overseas Territories with the European Union (EU) was the purpose of the ninth annual Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union Forum, held earlier this month in the Pacific state of New Caledonia and attended by Legislative Assembly Member Roger Edwards, Michael Poole of FIG and the Falklands UK representative Sukey Cameron.