2013-01-03 17:28
(Picture: AP) (Facundo Arrizabalaga)
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London - The war of words between
Britain and Argentina over the disputed Falkland Islands flared anew on Thursday,
with London firmly rejecting the charge of "blatant colonialism"
leveled by Argentine President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner.
In full-page advertisements in two leading liberal
newspapers in Britain, Fernandez de Kirchner called on Britain to abide by a
1965 UN resolution to "negotiate a solution" over the islands in the
South Atlantic.
The Argentine president, who sent the same appeal to UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, accused Britain of having taken the islands in a
"blatant exercise of 19th century colonialism" in 1833.
Her letter, published on the 180th anniversary of the
historic date, received an immediate rebuff from British Prime Minister David
Cameron and from the Falkland Islands government.
A spokesperson for Cameron said the people of the
Falkland Islands had shown a "clear desire to remain British" and the
Argentine government should respect their right to self determination.
Argentina should abide by the result of a referendum to
be held on the status of the Falklands in March, said the spokesperson.
He added that Cameron would "do everything to protect
the interests of the Falklands Islanders."
Earlier, a spokesperson for the Falklands Islands
government said: "We are not a colony - our relationship with the United
Kingdom is by choice.
"Unlike the government of Argentina, the United
Kingdom respects the right of our people to determine our own affairs, a right
that is enshrined in the UN Charter and which is ignored by Argentina."
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office in London said
there could be no negotiations on the sovereignty of the Falklands "unless
and until such time as the islanders so wish."
"They remain free to choose their own futures, both
politically and economically, and have a right to self-determination as
enshrined in the UN Charter," she added.
"This is a fundamental human right for all peoples.
There are three parties to this debate, not just two as Argentina likes to
pretend. The islanders can't just be written out of history," said the
Foreign Office.
Claiming ownership
In her open letter to Cameron, published as an advert in
the Guardian and the Independent newspapers, Fernandez de Kirchner calls for
the islands - known as the Malvinas in Argentina - to come under the
sovereignty of her country.
Argentina claims that it inherited ownership of the
islands from Spain, and that Britain occupied the islands by force on 3 January
1833.
"Argentina was forcibly stripped of the Malvinas
Islands, which are situated 14 000km away from London," she said.
"The Argentines on the Islands were expelled by the
Royal Navy and the United Kingdom subsequently began a population implantation
process similar to that applied to other territories under colonial rule,"
said the letter.
The events of 1833 are, however, portrayed differently on
the Foreign Office website. It says that an interim governor appointed by
ministers in Buenos Aires was murdered by his own men and a British warship
subsequently "told" his 24-man garrison to leave the islands.
British administration, which dated back to 1765, was
then resumed, according to the Foreign Office.
Its website also refers to the 1965 UN resolution which,
it says, "invited the British and Argentine governments to begin
negotiations 'with a view to finding a peaceful solution to the problem,
bearing in mind the provisions and objectives of the UN Charter and... the
interests of the population of the Falkland Islands [Malvinas]'."
Protest
Argentina has also recently lodged a diplomatic protest
against a British government decision to name part of Antarctica as Queen
Elizabeth Land -to mark the 60-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
The area, which makes up around a third of the British
Antarctic Territory, is also claimed by the South American country.
Britain and Argentina went to war over the Falklands in
1982. The conflict claimed the lives of 655 Argentinian soldiers and 255
British military personnel.
Oil has recently been discovered around the islands,
inhabited by just 3 000 people. Argentina claims that the planned referendum is
illegitimate as it sees the islanders as occupiers, rather than residents.
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