Comments on: Island fever

By: Calvin

Calvin — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:22:12 +0000

The supporters of the EU have never properly understood the concept of patriotism, the nation state or allegiance to local democracy. The only view that matters is what flag/country the islanders want and they overwhelmingly want nothing whatsoever to do with Argentina. The people that want a USE seem to think that flags are interchangeable or ‘it doesn’t matter’ and the arrogance of that view is largely why a united states of Europe will never happen.

By: Calvin

Calvin — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:14:37 +0000

The Malvinas/Falklands are called what the people living there want to call them and they overwhelmingly want to stay under UK rather than argentine governance. The same is true of the Gibraltar. Northern Ireland is the one interesting one because the view is split between the population, thus the decades of armed conflict.

By: Alan

Alan — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 13:38:48 +0000

Forget “Malvinas”, the Falkland Islands do not belong to Argentina, they never have, and probably never will. Likewise, they do not belong to England, nor to the U.K. but they are under protection as Margaret Thatcher so courageously proved. The people who live there are the true owners, and have the absolute right to decide for themselves to whom they will be allied.

By: John Hickman

John Hickman — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 16:14:48 +0000

The Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese and Filipinos are not making warlike gestures at one another because the islands at issue are tax havens. They are focused on what the islands mean for relative power in the region and on the exploitable hydrovarbons around the islands.

By: Pedro

Pedro — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 07:11:39 +0000

The Malvinas are Argentinian, Gibraltar is Spanish, Northern Ireland is Irish, the english need to stop thieving. Maybe it’s inherent in the english to be thieves, so they need to fight the natural instinct to be thieves and learn to live amongst civilized humanity.

By: Paul I

Paul I — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 17:34:09 +0000

“distinguishing features: looks from above suspiciously like a treasure island”

very funny, Roderick

By: BritBob

BritBob — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 13:16:35 +0000

The Falkland Islands have got absolutely nothing to do with Argentina. The British claimed the Falklands in 1765, Argentina did not inherit them from Spain. Vernet, a privateer set up a colony there with the permission of the British. He switched allegiance to Argentina and turned his hand to piracy and was removed by the British in 1833. Most of the settlers stayed under the BRitish flag. In 1850 Britain and Argentina signed a treaty called ‘the Convention of Settlement’ that acknowledged that ‘All outstanding differences had been settled.’ and that ‘a state of perfect harmony had been restored between both nations.’ Argentina had made sovereignty claims right up to 1949 but not again until 1941. Under international law sovereignty claims are considered defunct if there is a gap of 50 years or more between claims on sovereignty. The 3,000 Falkland Islanders have the right to self determination under the UN Charter as confirmed by the Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon last month. There is no dispute.