Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, lambastes UK

03/04/2012

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April 3, 2012
Yesterday was the 30 year anniversary of the Falkland conflict. In 1982 Argentina invaded the sovereign Falkland Islands and the UK sent a task force in to regain the Islands. In the 30 years since the brief but bloody conflict ended nothing much has changed. The majority of the islanders wish to remain under British rule, the UK is still not prepared to hand the islands over to Argentina and Argentina still claims the Falklands or Las Malvinas Islands are Argentinian territory.

Perhaps the most significant change has been the discovery that the Falklands or at least the area off their coast could be rich in oil. This added to the sensitive 30 year anniversary was probably bound to lead to trouble.

Yesterday there were some protests in Argentina and today these have continued. During the protests the British Embassy in Bueson Aires was attacked and an effigy of Prince William was burnt. On the whole the general feeling though was that it was a minor disturbance and that Argentinians have no stomach for another conflict.

That said last night around 5,000 citizens braved freezing cold temperatures to wait for their President to speak. They held an all night vigil and were rewarded with a passionate speech by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner,the Argentinian President.

The vigil and address took place in Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city. This city has significant importance for the people of Argentina. It is classed as the capital of the vast South Atlantic territory which includes Las Malvinas, called by the British,  the Falklands.

Signficantly the Argentinian President spoke as she stood close to a statue which represents the Falklands. She said:
"I am a Malvinist president. It is an injustice how in the 21st century there still subsists a colonialist enclave a few hundred kilometres from our shores. It is absurd to pretend dominion 8 000 miles overseas." .

OPINION: Surely it is time for sensible discussion with all parties?
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Peru joins in Argentine Falkland argument with UK

20/03/2012

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It is almost 30 years to the anniversary of the start of the Falkland Conflict between the UK and the Islanders on one side, and Argentina on the other. In the last few weeks TEK has reported on Prince William's tour of duty on the Falkland Isles, an apparent show of strength by UK Naval forces and the UK company's search for oil in the waters off the Falkland Isles.

During this time the President of Argentina has been vocal as far as the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands goes. It seems that she, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, is ready to do battle, hopefully only verbally, for the Falkland Islands.

The Islands are situated miles away from the UK and are part of our Colonial heritage. It could be likened to Argentina owing the UK Isle of Man. However the UK government maintains that as long the Falkland Islanders want to stay under British rule we will do what it takes.

In the conflict of 1982,  more than 600 Argentinian and 255 British troops died. Surely no-one wants to go down that road again. A negotiated agreement must be possible.

As the Anniversary approaches other South American countries are joining the cause of Argentina. Today March 20, 2012, Peru has announced that the British Royal Navy are no longer welcome to visit Peru. According to the BBC  "HMS Montrose had been due to dock at the El Callao naval base this week. The UK Foreign Office said officials could have raised concerns with Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne when he was in the country last week".

The Peruvian Foreign Minister Rafael Roncagliolo has said that he supports the Argentine claim that the Falkland Islands or Las Malvinas should belong to them. Cancelling the visit of HMS Montrose he said, "This decision has been taken in the spirit of Latin American solidarity commitments undertaken in the framework of Unasur (Union of South American Nations) with regard to the legitimate rights of Argentina in the sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding waters."

During the previous conflict Americans to the North, that is in the USA. stayed neutral.

Argentine Minister Hector Timmermann has already threatened the UK with legal action over its oil exploration. The UK Foreign Office has said that it regrets Peru's cancellation of the Royal Navy visit, saying, "HMS Montrose was scheduled to make a short visit to Peru as part of a routine deployment to the region"

A Foreign Office spokesman said "This was agreed as an act of friendship and co-operation between Peru and the UK. Ship visits are a sovereign decision for states, but we regret that Peru has revoked its previous agreement to this visit. This is despite the Peruvian government having had the opportunity on Friday to raise any concerns it had about this agreed co-operation."UK PM David Cameron has reiterated that the Falkland Islands sovereignty is not open for negotiation, as long as the majority of the islanders wish to remain with the UK as its country.
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Argentina Falkland Islands Oil

16/03/2012

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Early in February 2012 TEKJournalism reported that Argentina had expressed concerns over what it saw as the increasing militarisation of the Falkland Islands. In April 2012 it will be the 30 year anniversary of the Falkland conflict. In 1982 Argentina invaded the Falklands initiating a conflict with the UK and the islanders. Since the conflict ended the issue of the sovereignty of the Falklands has not been resolved, at least not as far as Argentina goes.

TEK's February report touched on oil exploration around the Falklands. At that time it instigated an interesting but heated debate on Facebook. Having been challenged on the facts of the matter we dug a little deeper. This led to an update of the report with regard to oil.

Today March 16, 2012, the latest news regarding the Falklands issue seems to confirm that our initial report was indeed correct. Whilst the UK may maintain that it is simply hanging onto the Falklands because the people of the Islands want to remain with a sovereign British Rule, oil could be at the heart of the matter.

Argentina has now threatened court action over the UK Falkland Islands oil exploration. The Argentinian Foreign Minister Hector Timmerman called the behaviour of the firms drilling of the Falklands as "illegal intimidation". Not surprisingly the UK Foreign Office has claimed that the oil drilling is a legitimate commercial venture.

UK PM David Cameron has reiterated that the UK will "continue to protect and defend" the islands. Perhaps now we at least know in part why.

Falkland conflict history here
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Argentina - UK accused of Falklands militarisation

08/02/2012

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2012 is the 30-year anniversary of the conflict between the UK and Argentina over ownership of the Falkland Islands. It is fair to say that until the conflict broke out in 1982 few people in the UK were aware of the Falklands, its location and its sovereignty.

The Islands are located of the coast of Argentina many miles from the UK and British life. The small population of the islands however want to remain as British subjects and so it would seem that if necessary we would go to war again.

In the last few weeks some would say that the UK has either been rubber stamping its ownership of the Falklands or goading the people of Argentina. Prince William has been stationed there for a six-week tour of duty and the UK has sent one of its few remaining warships into the area. UK authorities claim that HMS Dauntless is simply replacing an existing warship as a matter of routine, as they do with regards to Prince William's presence in the region.

There is no doubt though that the UK is edging its bets. The Falklands is better defended than it ever has been. It is generally accepted that the islands, if lost or invaded, would be hard to re-capture. Great Britain still claims it is all about the people of the Falkland Islands and their wishes but you have to wonder if that is the case.

The amount of money all of this will cost can only leave the conclusion that more is at stake. Could that be oil?

The Falklands is rich in oil and gas. Some pundits would recommend investing what you can in shares. Although oil exploration was put on hold when prices dropped now that the world, as far as oil is concerned, is imploding Falklands oil could be a very useful asset.

The President of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez, is to lodged a formal complaint with the UN. She has said, "We will present a complaint to the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, as this militarisation poses a grave danger to international security."

Whilst much of what is going on right now is political posturing and a war of words it is a case of watch this space.


Update: According to the comments below there is no oil in the region. According to investors it seems that there is. Plus it is claimed that Argentinians have had their eye on the Falklands for some time again. As they dispute the island's sovereignty presumably they always keep one eye on the islands. Great Britain has gradually shed itself of its colonial past and to this blogger the Falkland islands appear to be part of that long gone past.

Where this puts the people living there I do not know.

Media reports online claim that only a third of the population were born on the island and that a handful of locals wanted to lose British sovereignty back in 1982. Yesterday, February 7, 2012, Dick Sawle the country's leader said he needed nothing from any country including the UK, except for miliary power. 

Speaking on BBC 2 he said,“When talking about the Falkland Islands, there are three parts involved in this: the British government, ours, which is a democracy and Argentina,” although Argentina only acknowledges the United Kingdom for negotiations.We are always willing to talk to Argentina about many issues except our sovereignty, because we want to continue with our self-determination and determine our own future. Our sovereignty is not negotiable. There are things going on here all the time, such as Prince William doing his job as a helicopter pilot. If people want to read something else into that, then it is not true. And the HMS Dauntless is a Type 45 ship replacing a Type 42 one, which was already pretty old. Its deployment is normal and something like this happens in any modern military force” 

Do British people want to undertake another Falkland conflict if necessary? Do we agree with the cost of protecting those Islands? Are we to get any say in the matter? Millions of us as opposed to a few thousand?

Mr Sawle concluded, “Deep inside, we’re all very British, and many tourists visiting us say we’re more British than the British. We have our own traditions and British traditions as well. We also have people from other countries living peacefully among us: people from Chile, Saint Helena and Argentina, who we have no problem with. There is no discrimination towards other nationalities” 

Yes you are more British than the British because you are not British in this British blogger's opinion.

A 2010 report set the cost at £69m to maintain a military presence on the Falklands Islands in 2010-11. With increased problems it will be an increased military cost. The UK military is currently cutting jobs in order to try and balance the books. Falkland Islanders do not pay British taxes. 

A UK representative of the island in 2010 said, "We, in particular, have made tremendous strides in developing our economy and we are proud of the fact that we require no budgetary aid from the UK. In fact, should oil be recovered from our territorial waters in commercial quantities, then we should be able to make an even bigger contribution to the cost of our defence. There is no doubt that the UK economy will benefit from any such development"Sukey Cameron
The Falklands worth every penny? You decide.
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Falkland Islands 30 years on

08/01/2012

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On Friday April 2, 1982 Argentinian forces entered the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. The Falklands and South Georgia are sovereign lands of the UK and Great Britain responded. A Naval task force was dispatched and a conflict followed. It was never called a war, but it was a war in all but name. It lasted 74 days, and thirty years on an uneasy peace still reigns. It may not last much longer though.

In this anniversary year other South American countries are offering support to Argentina. Since the 19th Century Argentina has claimed that the Falkland Islands are part of their country. The location of the islands is close to Argentina and many miles from Great Britain. However Great Britain has historical rights over the Falklands and is loathe to surrender them. The Falklands have strategic importance for the UK.

That said there is nothing to say that in the future a negotiated agreement may not be reached. Great Britain would react again should hostilities be instigated by Argentina. Although the issue of sovereignty was not resolved after the last furore it was set to on side so the two countries could have diplomatic relations and the like.

There have been rumblings from South America lately though which suggest the issue of the Falkland Islands could flare up again. As if to add salt to the Argentinian wounds Prince William is due to be stationed in the Falklands for around 6 weeks, early in 2012. As part of the Queen's Jubilee celebrations Edward Duke of Kent will visit the islands too. He may only be a minor Royal but it could aggravate the situation further.

Falklands history here
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