It seem that every few months a member of the Argentine
government makes some noise regarding the Falkland Islands. This time it was the
turn of their Foreign Affairs Minister, Hector Timermann, to get angry about
the issue on a trip to London. Timermann made the outlandish claim that
Argentina will control the islands within 20 years. He also said there was no
need to ask what the Falkland Islanders wanted to do, likening the referendum
to asking Jews in the Occupied Territories if they wished to remain Israeli.
This s a non-sense comparison as nobody lived on the Falkland Islands prior to
the arrival of colonists. The closest thing to a Falkland Island Native is the
current residents who’ve been there for 180 years!
Mr Timermann also claimed that “not one country”
supported Britain, despite significant support from the West and Europe, in
particular from France. He also ignored the increasing annoyance of other Latin
American countries at Argentina’s increasing persistence over the issue. Argentina
brings it up at every regional event, despite much more pressing issues that
should be discussed. Argentina is becoming increasingly aggressive towards the
population of the Falkland Islands. When I spoke with Jan Cheek, a member of
the Falkland Islands Legislature, at the Labour Party Conference last year she
said that Argentina is trying to intimidate and scare the Falkland Islanders.
This is naturally angering the residents who are increasingly anti-Argentine
and unlikely to support a transfer to Argentine sovereignty.
Argentine politicians love to beat their chests over the
Falkland Islands to rally support. The reality is, so long as the residents of
the Falklands wish to remain linked with the United Kingdom, Argentina will not
control the islands. And nothing will change that.
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