As the 30th anniversary of the Falklands war approaches UK-Argentine relations continue to deteriorate.
Tensions between the two governments continue to soar with Argentina’s transport union preparing to boycott all ships flying the British flag.
This follows the decesion taken by South American trading bloc Mercosur who, in December, closed its ports to all ships flying the Falklands Islands flag.
Since then British military manoeuvres in the South Atlantic have recieved an extraordinary amount of attention, with Prince William being deployed to the region.
In response, Argentine Foreign Affairs Minister, Hector Timerman, last week submitted a complaint against the so called ‘militarisation’ of the South Atlantic by the UK.
Self Determination
Lisa Watson, editor of Falklands Island newspaper Penguin News, commenting on twitter said: “It is frustrating that land is considered important and the islanders are nothing more than a problem. People matter.”
The right to self determination is protected under Article 1 of the UN Charter, which states: “respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples.”
British people also agree that the islanders should have the right to self determination, with a recent poll conducted by ComRes, for ITV, finding 76% of the British people believe that “The future of the Falkland Islands should be determined by the Islanders themselves.”
Enter Sean Penn
Hollywood actor Sean Penn has also thrown his hat into the Falklands Island dispute today, criticising the UK as having a “ludicrous and archaic commitment to colonialist ideology.”
Penn’s comments come after a meeting with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in Buenos Aires, and have been met with criticisim from the Islanders who believe in the right to self determination.
