KIRCHNER AT UN TO DEMAND RETURN OF FALKLANDS TO ARGENTINA

Argentina Makes Claim To UN Over Falklands
By Hannah Thomas-Peter, US reporter | Sky News – 13 minutes ago

On the 30th anniversary of the end of the Falklands war, Argentina's president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will travel to the UN in New York to reassert her country's claim to sovereignty over the islands. She will attend a usually low key annual meeting of the UN's Decolonisation Committee , reportedly with around 90 delegates. It is the first time a head of state has shown up in person.

The UK refuses to participate in the 29-country committee, but two of the Falkland Islands' four legislative assembly members, Roger Edwards and Mike Summers, will be there to speak. Mr Edwards told Sky News Online: "My message to President Cristina Fernandez and the government of Argentina is that we, the people of the Falkland Islands, have a right to determine our own future. It is chapter one of the United Nations Charter and it is the basic human right of all people."

Mr Edwards confirmed he would try to hand a formal letter to the Argentine delegation at the meeting, but admitted he did not know if she would receive it.
Mr Edwards and Mr Summers will be accompanied by a delegation of six younger Falkland Islanders. One of them, Michael Poole, told Sky News Online that the 3,000 people living there had already chosen to be a UK territory, and they were fed up of Argentina's bogus claims. He said: "We're very happy to be British, very happy to have the support of the British government, and we hope for that to continue in the future."

UN diplomats have described President Fernandez's decision to come to New York as "odd". The committee she's speaking at has little political influence and tends to issue the same call every year: for all sides to open negotiations about the status of the Falkland Islands. It is a call the UK will reject, just as it rejects the premise of the meeting in the first place.

Diplomats have also suggested President Fernandez is ratcheting up tension over the Falklands as a way of distracting from her own domestic political problems. Her government has accused the UK of "militarizing" the South Atlantic by sending a destroyer to the region and deploying Prince William on a tour of duty to the Islands. Four months ago Argentina's Foreign Minister Hector Timerman called the islands "the last refuge of a declining empire".

UN leader Ban Ki-moon appealed to both sides to avoid an "escalation" of their sovereignty battle at such a sensitive time.

The UK has accused Argentina of trying to impose an economic blockade on the Falklands by making shipping and flying to and from the islands more difficult, and for declaring UK companies exploring for oil nearby "illegal".

On Tuesday the Falklands government announced it would be holding a referendum on the Islands' political status next year, aiming to bring to an end the dispute over what the people living there want.

bb1 wrote:Well, as the islanders are going to have a vote on the matter, I suggest she butt out and let democracy prevail.

Though Argentina and democracy don't really go together....

Falkland Islands liberation marked
Press Association – 3 hours ago


Foreign Office minister Jeremy Browne during a service at San Carlos cemetery to commemorate the Falklands War.

War heroes and those they freed will stand together as they mark the 30th anniversary of the liberation of the Falkland Islands.
The 74-day occupation of the remote British Overseas Territory ended on June 14 1982 as Argentinian commander General Mario Menendez surrendered to the British at Stanley.
The fighting cost the lives of 255 British servicemen, three Falkland Islanders and 655 Argentinian soldiers. Three decades after Margaret Thatcher sent 27,000 troops and more than 100 ships to repel the Argentinian invaders, Buenos Aires continues to set its sights on claiming the territory.
The South American country's president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, is due to address the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonisation, meeting in New York.
A small delegation of islanders, most of whom were not yet born when the Falklands War took place, will also be in New York, where they hope to give a message to Ms Kirchner and the Argentinian delegation that the South American country's attitude to Falkland Islanders is an "insult" to the generations of families who have forged a life there.
In Stanley - the capital of the Falkland Islands - veterans, widows, politicians and Falklanders will take part in a commemoration service.
The service will be attended by Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne who said the anniversary would be a mixture of "celebration and commemoration".
"People are very proud of the achievements of the British armed forces," Mr Browne said. "The Falkland Islanders themselves were obviously coerced into a political arrangement they didn't wish to have 30 years ago and they are enthusiastic about celebrating their liberation from that. It is also a commemorative event and it's a balance about people being pleased on the Falkland Islands about the outcome of the war but also a more sombre reflection on the sacrifice on both sides."
At least half of the 3,000-strong population is expected to line the street which leads to Liberation Monument. A service of thanksgiving will be held at Stanley's Christ Church Cathedral, with the Governor of the Falkland Islands, members of the Legislative Assembly, the Commander of British Forces South Atlantic Islands and other visiting dignitaries and veterans expected to attend.
A parade will be led by veterans of the 1982 war and consist of members of the Royal Navy, the Parachute Regiment, the Royal Air Force and the Falkland Islands Defence Force.

rhodes wrote:But don't the British want the islands for the oil?

or am I wrong?

rhodes wrote:But don't the British want the islands for the oil?

or am I wrong?

Lamplighter wrote:

rhodes wrote:But don't the British want the islands for the oil?

or am I wrong?

The Falkland Islanders wish to remain British; it is Kirchner who wants the Islands for the oil etc.

Sabot, she has the support of the more radical S American countries, like Chile, but as far as I know the USA does not wish to get involved. LL

Sabot wrote:

Lamplighter wrote:

rhodes wrote:But don't the British want the islands for the oil?

or am I wrong?

The Falkland Islanders wish to remain British; it is Kirchner who wants the Islands for the oil etc.

Sabot, she has the support of the more radical S American countries, like Chile, but as far as I know the USA does not wish to get involved. LL

But didn't some North American Politician spout off on this one, albeit a supposed personal opinion. Not that anyone needs to worry about that, but why is she going to America?

Lamplighter wrote:

Sabot wrote:

Lamplighter wrote:

rhodes wrote:But don't the British want the islands for the oil?

or am I wrong?

The Falkland Islanders wish to remain British; it is Kirchner who wants the Islands for the oil etc.

Sabot, she has the support of the more radical S American countries, like Chile, but as far as I know the USA does not wish to get involved. LL

But didn't some North American Politician spout off on this one, albeit a supposed personal opinion. Not that anyone needs to worry about that, but why is she going to America?

She's gone to the United Nations, which is based in New York, to putr her case, not to the US. LL

Lamplighter wrote:She's basing it on this: (Long article so just providing link). LL

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkland_Islands_sovereignty_dispute

bb1 wrote:Spain showing any signs of giving up Ceuta, LL?

Morocco had previously called for negotiations on the future of Ceuta, Melilla and a number of Mediterranean islands and enclaves that border it. The majority of the city's population are ethnic Spanish who are opposed to the idea of being ruled by Morocco. A poll conducted by Instituto Opina found that 87.9% of people from mainland Spain consider the two cities to be Spanish.

Sabot wrote:Gibralta is a prime example, LL. And they even have a Causeway to Spain. But even the Aboriginals don't want to be Spanish. So not much point in looking for support from Spain who don't actually have an Armada anymore. But we beat that one as well.

bb1 wrote:They would all be well advised to stop sabre rattling. Until the day when the locals in these enclaves democratically VOTE for change, there's no justification for their grandstanding.

bb1 wrote:They would all be well advised to stop sabre rattling. Until the day when the locals in these enclaves democratically VOTE for change, there's no justification for their grandstanding.