Tag: Falklands
The longstanding dispute over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic between Britain and Argentina is once again in the news; this time as a result of the recent findings of a UN commission that has adjudicated that Argentina’s existing maritime territory in the South Atlantic be expanded by 35%, thus bringing the Falklands within Argentine territorial waters.
Faced with mounting international pressure over the Falkland Islands territorial dispute, the British government enlisted its spy service, including a highly secretive unit known for using “dirty tricks,” to covertly launch offensive cyberoperations to prevent Argentina from taking the islands.
Britain is loudly proclaiming that the inhabitants of the Falkland Islands, the South Atlantic island group that is hotly contested between Britain and Argentina, voted 99.8 percent to remain an overseas territory of the United Kingdom.British Prime Minister David Cameron publicly rebuked the Argentine government and the new Pope, Francis I, for their support of Argentine sovereignty over the Falklands. As Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio supported Argentina’s historical claim to the islands…So, while Mr. Cameron lectures the Pope and Argentina on respecting the wishes of the Falkland Islanders, he continues to run roughshod over the wishes of the peoples of the Turks and Caicos, Anguilla, the Chagos Archipelago, and even those closer to home in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, who would opt for independence if not for the heavy jackboot of British colonial rule…
On March 10 and 11 roughly 2,500 Falklanders go to vote on whether or not they wish to remain under British rule. It is expected there will be a 100 per cent 'yes' vote. The referendum occurs at a time when the relations between the United Kingdom and Argentina have reached a low-point. After the war they improved during the late 1990s to abruptly deteriorate during the last couple of years… Argentina argues that the referendum is invalid as the islanders are colonizers and are not an indigenous population of the islands. On January 3 Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner sent an open letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron once again calling on the UK to hand back the Falkland Islands. She accused the UK of colonialism…