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Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Sad Farewell To Margaret Thatcher In Falklands - Silence In Argentina
STANLEY, FALKLAND ISLANDS – In nearby Argentina, President Cristina Kirchner and her ministers offered not a single word after the death this week of Margaret Thatcher. Absolute silence was the strictest order of the day in the halls of government in Buenos Aires.
Still, some veterans from the 1982 war did react, including the head of the Falkland’s Fallen Family Member’s Commission, César Trejo, who lamented that the former British prime minister died without being brought to trial in the Hague for the Royal Navy's sinking of the Argentinian war ship Belgrano, which killed 323 sailors during the short-lived conflict.
Meanwhile, Thatcher's memory was duly honored in the Falklands, where she has long been viewed as a singular heroine. Shortly after word spread of her death, the British-run administration of the Islands issued a statement. “It is with great sadness that we received news of the death of Baroness Thatcher this morning,” read the text signed by advisor Mike Summers. “She will forever be remembered in the Islands for her decisiveness in sending a task force to liberate our home following the Argentine invasion in 1982.”
He added that the islanders expressed their “sincere gratitude," concluding that Thatcher's “friendship and support will be sorely missed, and we will always be thankful for all that she did for us. The thoughts and deepest sympathies of all Falkland Islanders are with her family and friends at this sad time."
Thatcher is the only British Prime Minister with a Falklands street named after her, located behind the monument to British soldiers who died in the war with Argentina where Islanders gather every June 14th to mark what is known here as “Liberation Day,” the date Argentina surrendered in 1982.
Thatcher was on the archipelago only twice. She arrived for a surprise visit during the summer of 1983, then she was there for the local celebrations ten years after the victory in the war.
Recently, declassified documents from the UK show a surprising level of flexibility from even Thatcher's administration had regarding claims of sovereignty before the Argentine invasion, which may have caused a slight dent in the island's love affair with the ex Prime Minister.
Falkland Islands Vote 99.8% In Favor Of Remaining British
BUENOS AIRES HERALD, CLARIN, LA RED, PAGINA 12 (Argentina)
BUENOS AIRES – Residents of the Falkland Islands voted en masse in favor of remaining a British territory.
Thirty-one years after the UK and Argentina went to war over the remote South-Atlantic archipelago, the referendum asked: “Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?”
The two-day referendum saw a voter turnout of 92%, with 99.8% of people voting “yes,” and only three voting “no,” reports the Buenos Aires Herald.
“I consider myself a Falkland Islander, but my ancestors came from Britain,” Rob McGill told the Buenos Aires Herald.
The consultation was designed to send a strong message to leaders in Argentina, who dismissed the referendum as “illegal,” because the population was “implanted” and could not claim the right to self-determination, according to Clarin.
Argentina said the referendum was a “manipulation” that would “not end the dispute over the sovereignty of the islands.”
Argentina’s Ambassador in London, Alicia Castro, told Buenos Aires radio La Red: “It is a manoeuver with no legal value, which has neither been convened nor supervised by the United Nations.”
“We respect their way of life, their identity. We respect that they want to continue being British, but the territory they inhabit is not British,” Castro told La Red.
Hours before the end of the vote, reports Pagina 12, British Prime Minister David Cameron “added fuel to fire” by saying that Argentina must respect the result of the vote. “The Falkland Islands may be thousands of miles away, but they are British through and through, and that is how they want to stay,” said Cameron. He added: “They want to remain British and that view should be respected by everybody, including by Argentina.”
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