Argentina's president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, has written a letter to David Cameron urging the UK, a "colonial power", to abide by a UN resolution to "end colonialism in all its forms and manifestations" and return the Malvinas/Falkland Islands to Argentina.
In the Telegraph Nile Gardiner, a former aide to Margaret Thatcher, says the letter, which is published as an advert in newspapers today, is "stuffed full of falsehoods and has no regard for reality". He argues: "The Falklands are not a colony, but a self-governing British Overseas Territory."
According to Wikipedia's entry on the British empire, Britain retains sovereignty over 14 territories outside the British Isles, named the British overseas territories.
"Some are uninhabited except for transient military or scientific personnel; the remainder are self-governing to varying degrees and are reliant on the UK for foreign relations and defence. The British government has stated its willingness to assist any overseas territory that wishes to proceed to independence, where that is an option. British sovereignty of several of the overseas territories is disputed by their geographical neighbours: Gibraltar is claimed by Spain, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are claimed by Argentina, and the British Indian Ocean Territory is claimed by Mauritius and Seychelles. The British Antarctic Territory is subject to overlapping claims by Argentina and Chile."
In December, the Foreign Office declared that a tract of land in Antarctica, about twice the size of the UK, was to be named after the Queen as a gift, prompting complaints from Argentina.
In the light of such actions, and with the ongoing existence of the Commonwealth, as well as the disputed British overseas territories, is it fair to claim, as Kirchner does, that Britain is still a colonial power?
Open all references in tabs: [1 - 5]