It's an election year in Argentina so a pluralistic delegation will be travelling to New York to make the country's annual claim over the Falkland Islands sovereignty before the United Nations Decolonization Committee, next Tuesday, according to reports in the Buenos Aires media.
In an official release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Argentina recalled that 186 years ago, on 3 January 1833, “UK military forces illegally occupied and usurped the Malvinas Islands and adjoining maritime spaces in the South Atlantic”.
Foreign minister Jorge Faurie reiterated before the United Nations Decolonization Committee or C24, that Argentina wishes to establish a dialogue with the UK to solve the Malvinas Islands dispute, and underlined he believed that “favorable conditions” for such a scenario have been created and are advancing.
Alejandro Jacobo Betts, Argentine citizen, born as Alexander Jacob Betts in the Falkland Islands, where he lived with a family until the end of the 1982 conflict, has been delisted from the Argentine delegation to this year's United Nations Decolonization Committee or C24 meeting scheduled for this month in New York.
Falkland Islands elected lawmakers with be delivering speeches on Thursday before the United Nations Decolonization Committee as petitioners requesting C24 de-lists the Islands from the Non Self Governing Territories, upholds the Falkland Islanders right to self determination and frees them from the continuous Argentine bullying and harassment.
Spain’s separate battles to both become a temporary member of the United Nations Security Council and to also force Britain into bilateral negotiations over Gibraltar appear to be on a collision course, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Brazil reaffirmed support for Argentina's sovereignty rights over the Malvinas and other South Atlantic islands and surrounding maritime spaces at a meeting of the head of the Malvinas Islands affairs desk, Daniel Filmus with top officials from Defense and Foreign Affairs in Brasilia.
In a long statement recalling the 181st anniversary of the 'usurpation of our Malvinas, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands and the adjoining maritime spaces' (almost three million square kilometers) the Argentine Foreign ministry contrasts Buenos Aires peaceful, dialogue attitude with the verbal aggressiveness from British officials when referring to the Malvinas issue.
Despite frequent snow showers and zero temperatures, the celebratory party had already started on Arch Green in the centre of Port Stanley as the result of the Falklands’ referendum was a foregone conclusion, but the loud cheer that went up from the assembled gathering could be heard all over the town as the news filtered through that only 3 persons had voted against the Falklands remaining a self-governing dependent territory of Great Britain.
Cuba was elected last week vice president of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, also known as the Committee of the 24, exclusively in charge of promoting a decolonization agenda.