Maragret Thatcher og Latinamerika

Mercopress correspondent Harold Briley knew Margaret Thatcher well, here reminiscing on fifty years of reporting her activities for half a century as a BBC Political, Latin America. Defence and East Europe Correspondent.

Om Falklandskrigen:

Her resolve hardened and she made a Churchillian speech to Parliament saying the repressive Argentine military dictators could not prevail. The Islands would be liberated. This brought about the downfall of the dictatorship, the very scenario they had tried to avoid by launching the invasion. It ended seven years of repression in Argentina in which the military abducted, tortured and killed thousands of their own people. Restoration of democracy in Argentina, thanks to the British victory, had a domino effect paving the way for the many military dictatorships in Latin America to progress to democratic government.

Margaret Thatcher’s influence on the whole of Latin America is often overlooked. Many present day leaders have expressed sadness at her death, and paid tribute to her as a courageous leader — but in Argentina there is still bitterness over the sinking of the cruiser Belgrano with the loss of more than 360 lives.

This was the most controversial act of the war for which Argentina tried to have her prosecuted internationally as a “war criminal”. But even the Argentine admirals I interviewed told me it was “a legitimate act of war”.

Om Falklandsøerne og Argentina

Gavin Short a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands:

Argentine governments have a nasty habit of tearing up treaties on a whim — like the 1850 Convention of Settlement that Britain and Argentina signed, which acknowledged that there were no outstanding differences between the nations. The Falklands are not mentioned, and I take that to mean that Argentina accepted that it did not have a claim on our home. In fact, Argentina didn’t mention the Falklands for about 100 years after that.

Mere på MercoPress

Falklandsøerne forbliver britiske

Folkeafstemningen på Falklandsøerne viser som forventet en massiv opbakning til at forblive en selvstyrende britisk koloni.

Kun tre stemte imod. I alt støttede 98,8 procent støtter tilhørsforholdet og 1513 stemte for at fastholde forbindelsen til London som hidtil, viser officielle tal.

According to 2006 Census fi gures, the Falklands population (excluding people affiliated with the
military garrison) is 2,478. 2,115 people live in Stanley, equivalent to 85% of the total population
of the Falklands.
• 54% of the current population was born in the Falkland Islands
• 25% of the population are of British descent
• 14% of the population are of St Helenian descent
• 5% of the population are of Chilean descent

On BBC News, the reporter said he had spoken to one lady from Brazil who lives on the Islands and that she would be voting to stay under british sovereignty. Says it all really.

Se her, hvem der støtter argentinerne i deres krav på øerne, det øger kun min støtte til øboerne. I øvrigt er det argentinske folk, som nægter Falklandsøernes befolknings ret til selvbestemmelse, kolonisatorer og udryddere af indfødte i stor stil. Og de kontrollerede ikke store områder af det nuværende Argentina før længe efter Falklandsøerne var britisk territorium (og de havde udryddet endnu flere indianere). Jeg tror oven i købet, at jeg hørte DDR i mandags på DR2 kalde Falklanderne(?) for imperialister 🙂

DDR og Pølletiken angiver valgresultatet forkert – ‘Yes’ procenten er 99,8% og ikke 98,8%.

Falklandsøerne 1982

Argentinerne overgav sig den 14. juni 1982 efter at have okkuperet øerne siden 1. april 1982.

Falklandsøernes befolkning vil afgøre sin egen fremtid

The Falkland Islands are to hold a referendum on their “political status” in a bid to end the continuing dispute with Argentina over their sovereignty.

The vote will be held in 2013, the Falklands government said.

The announcement comes amid increasing tensions between Britain and Argentina over the disputed territory, which the South American country calls Las Malvinas.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said: “The British Government has been consistent in its view that the future of the Falklands can only be determined by the people who live there.

“So the Prime Minister and I support this initiative to demonstrate – without doubt – the definitive view of the Falkland Islands people.
In a region that rightly prizes democracy and human rights, it is entirely appropriate that the Islanders can express this fundamental right. The principle of self-determination is a key part of the United Nations charter.The voice of the Falkland Islands people should be heard. I hope very much that Argentina, and indeed the whole of the international community, joins the UK in listening carefully to what they have to say.”

Olympiade i London – Argentina provokerer

Argentina airs controversial Olympics advert of athletes in Falklands

The government of Argentina aired an advert last night showing one of its country’s athletes training for the upcoming Olympic Games on “Argentine soil” in the Falkland Islands.

The advert, broadcast on various channels at 10pm, prime time in Argentina, shows Fernando Zylberberg, a member of the men’s Argentine hockey team, running through the streets of Stanley in preparation for July’s games in London.

After watching Zylberberg train outside the Globe Tavern, the Falklands’ most popular pub, and sprint past the Penguin News, the islands’ only newspaper – which recently published a picture of Cristina Kirchner, the Argentine president, on its website under the visible filename ‘b—-’ – viewers read the slogan: ‘To compete on English soil, we train on Argentine soil’.

Og så venter vi bare på at Kirchner deltager i Miss World konkurrencen.