“Leave us alone!” Islanders Admonish Argentine “Lobby” for Falklands Sovereignty
Transcription by J Brock (FINN)
FIG have admonished Argentina’s international “lobby” touting sovereignty over the Falklands and demanded that it “leave the territory and its inhabitants alone.”
Coming after Argentine President Alberto Fernández obtained the support of his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, about the Argentine claim for the Falklands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands during his time in Beijing, the Falkland Islands Government firmly rejected the rhetoric.
In an FIG statement, Assemblywoman, Teslyn Barkman, expressed her government’s intention to stress the need for human and democratic freedoms to be respected, particularly with respect to the UN Charter, Article 1.2 “To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace.”
The FIG Statement was issued due to recent Argentine efforts to increase international lobbying about the Falklands sovereignty issue. “We wish to reiterate the need for both human and democratic liberties to be respected, particularly in terms of the undeniable right of a nation to self-determination.” The statement said
“We anticipated an increase of rhetoric over Falklands sovereignty in 2022, given the 40th anniversary of our liberation. We are using this opportunity to show the world what we have done with our hard-won freedom and achievements since 1982, but there are people who want to impose erroneous views about our self-determination. In the interest of expanding or enhancing their economic might, they choose to ignore fundamental rights of Islanders,” said Teslyn Barkman, current leader of the Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly.
“People who have never been here before have no first-hand knowledge of our home, our people and, by all appearances, our history,” She added.
“So once again we want to make it absolutely clear that our relationship with the UK is by choice. It’s a reciprocal partnership that we value highly – as demonstrated in the 2013 referendum, when 99.8% of voters chose to remain a British Overseas Territory – and we are pleased to see the support we received on social and media from both UK Government officials and of the British public.”
“Those sentiments are greatly appreciated, particularly in these times, as they strengthen our prevailing message that we be left alone to live our lives and develop our nation as we see fit on behalf of our current and future generations,” concluded Teslyn Barkman.
China’s support for Argentina’s claim to sovereignty over the Falkland Islands had already generated a diplomatic reaction from the United Kingdom, which, through Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, said, “We completely reject any questions over sovereignty of the Falklands.”
“The Falklands are part of the British family and we will defend their right to self-determination. China must respect the sovereignty of the Falklands,” the Foreign Office official published in her Twitter account.
