My view on the Falklands

The Falklands.

A few ideas and thoughts on this topic: All comments welcome.

The Falklands are historically Britain’s by right of annexation, occupation and conquest. This is how the world’s resources have been divided up for millennia, and increasingly so from now on as key resources start to run out. The Falklands should belong to the UK, but is it just a simple a matter of handing it over to Argentina?

Firstly, there is one question that must be asked, Are the majority of the inhabitants of the Falklands Argentinean? If so, then we Brits are in the wrong. But if the majority of the Falklanders are Brits, what then? Are they to be railroaded into changing nationality? I sincerely doubt it.

Now, the people of the Falkland Islands have a right to decide, too. And they do ultimately do not want to be Argentinean.

One person from Stanley, writes “We are no longer a British colony but a self-governing overseas territory with full rights of self-determination. We have chosen to remain British citizens.”

He follows with, “We have no desire to be colonised by Argentina, which refuses to recognise our Government or our right to determine our own future, but simply wants to seize our homeland, where we have lived for nearly 180 years. We will not be bullied into submission.”

Here is the article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/letters/article7039764.ece

The islands are three hundred miles from Argentina. They have no more of a claim to them than any other nation. Again,iIf the islanders wanted independence then that would be a reasonable and justifiable claim, but as it is they want to stay part of the UK. On top of which, the last time I checked, the usual 'territorial waters' extension of sovereignty goes no further than 200 miles. I also just checked my atlas, and posters above are correct, the Falkland Islands are more than 300 miles away from the Patagonian coast.

So any statement that those islands are 'surrounded by Argentinean waters' is false.
Furthermore, the history is clear that Argentina never had an active claim upon or settlement on that island group.

Though here is a simple idea to settle it. It is all about people after all.
Hold a referendum. It can be done one of two ways:

1. The population of the Falkland Islands only can vote, or

2. As well as the local population, the 60 million people in the UK and the 40 million people in Argentina also get to vote.

The underlying problem of any claim by Argentina is that the local population of the Falkland Islands wants nothing to do with them. They have no common culture or language with people on the mainland and recent relations have, to say the least, been a little fraught. And to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if Argentina slips back into military dictatorship in my lifetime… but that is just my personal opinion.

If self-determination is irrelevant compared to historical demographic changes, then nobody of Spanish or African descent in "Latin" America would have the right to vote, and indeed should be removed under a process of de-colonisation. If that is the case then the US should return Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California to Mexico. New York back to the Dutch.

If we are going to start on the question of sovereignty, I have a question to the Latin Americans who vote unanimously in support to Argentina’s claim to the Falklands - Where exactly do you think the Argentines originate from? Should Argentina not give the land back to the native people of that county? I mean, surely the majority of them are foreign colonialist from Italy and Spain? I mean, it is evident surely that the majority of them are foreign colonialist from Italy and Spain, isn’t it? If we are going to quibble about what happened 200 years ago, then let's have a discussion about the Spanish conquistadores' atrocities 500 years ago, and hand the land back to the descendants of the Aztecs and the Incas.

All in all, they are no more native to Argentina than the Falklanders are to the Falklands. What exactly in your mind gives these mostly Spanish colonists more rights than these mostly British colonists? Argentina should be grateful that Mrs Thatcher won the Falkland war as it helped get rid of a Fascist government in Argentina. Argentina has about as much right to the Falklands as it does to Greenland, Iceland, Lapland or Poundland.

And to all the super left wing idiots, who believe Britain should be forever apologizing for its past, claiming we are behaving like a 19th-century colonial power, and that we wouldn't care about what the Falkland Islanders think. Well, you are wrong, we do care. However, the Argentinean government doesn't care what the Islanders think. It just wants to expand its territory at the expense of the islands’ natives. Who's imperial now?

A message from me to everyone else reading this: Never mind colonialism, imperialism or anything else. You can't just go around being bullied by military dictatorships of histrionic Argentine women scared of losing an election. I personally don't really care if the Falklands were once Spanish or French. They are now British because the islanders want it that way, the people who live there are British and have been for ever such a long time. That is it. We must tell Argentina we are not listening to their threats or their silly arguments no matter how many dictators of unstable South American countries say they support them. If they want to come and get whet they think they are due, then they are welcome to try. They were ejected pretty quickly from defensive positions last time, let's see how they get on at assaulting properly defended positions this time. However I also think that we should make it clear that if they try, we are then unwilling to let them possess a floating navy ever again.

If 1 country or 32 countries have a problem with that it is of no consequence. It is not their land, it is none of their business. And ss for what Hugo Chavez, that beacon of democracy who fawns over the Iranian dictatorship, thinks - it's a joy to see him raging and ranting.

Oh, and by the way, I’d watch out Malta. You are rather close to Italy, watch out - here comes Berlusconi…