Buenos Aires only accepts one outcome of talks: “turning Falklands into an Argentine colony”

Following the article published in “The Independent” dated 22nd December 2011, entitled “Time to talk about the Falklands”, the people of the Falkland Islands would like to make the following response.

The Mercosur statement banning legitimate Falkland Islands flagged vessels from using their ports came as no surprise to the people of the Falkland Islands. We have seen Argentina pressuring their neighbours into lending verbal support to various pronouncements, all of which are aimed at putting us under pressure and disrupting our way of life. We are well aware of their wish to force us to discuss the sovereignty of the Islands from which they would only accept one outcome, turning our home and country into a colony of Argentina.

We are very appreciative of the strong support from the UK for our right to self determination under the UN Charter. We are equally disappointed that countries in the region with which we've had a long and mutually beneficial relationship seem ready to join Argentina in ignoring this right. As a people we have the right to determine our own future, and we have made a choice – to maintain our relationship with Britain. It is this right, and this choice that we have made, that is being ignored.

In an ideal world, of course disputes should be settled by talking. Unfortunately the only talks of interest to Argentina are those which have only one possible outcome; namely the hand over of the Falkland Islands against the clearly expressed wishes of their people.