West Point, Falklands/Malvinas Islands (Photo: Rogerio Tomazela on Flickr)
On Monday night, residents of the Falklands/Malvinas islands held a referendum and voted, by an overwhelming majority of 98.8%, to express their desire to remain a British overseas territory. Only three voters filed a negative ballot, and 92% of Falklands/Malvinas voters participated in the referendum.
The islanders held celebrations following the decisive result, singing ‘Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina’, ‘God Save the Queen’ and Rod Stewart’s ‘I Am Sailing’, as well as flying the UK flag.
The Argentine government did not recognise the referendum, declaring it an illegal meeting. On Friday, a group of senators requested a special congressional hearing to make a declaration against the Falklands/Malvinas vote.
“The referendum this weekend is a new political action of an advertising nature concocted by the UK,” said Daniel Filmus, head of the Foreign Relations Committee. “This publicity stunt has no validity under international law.”
The Argentine government’s refusal to acknowledge the vote, combined with the fact that the outcome was widely expected, will limit the impact of the referendum on the sovereignty debate. However, this is the first time the issue of sovereignty has been put to an official vote by the Falklands/Malvinas inhabitants.
The UK now hopes to convince the US to alter its stance on the issue from neutral to pro-UK behind the argument of self-determination. The Argentine government has rejected the self-determination stance because, it argues, self-determination cannot be used by the islanders because they originally colonised the land.
Given the Argentinian desire to take over ownership of the Falkland Islands it seems they are going about it in a very strange way. The British government have given the population their say and they have voted in favour of the status quo. The Argentinian approach is that of the bully eg a failed invasion, economic blockades and other assorted threats! Given the nature of the Falkland Islanders they might just be more susceptible to a more positive approach is ‘you will fare better under the Argentinian flag than you will under the Union flag’. Then leave it up to them!
When you argue with an Argentinean about the Falklands, you might as well try and deny the Immaculate Conception with the pope. It’s a question of faith. So just leave it at that. Just make sure you avoid Alicia Castro at cocktail parties or she will just bore you to death.