David Cameron makes Christmas pledge to Falkland Islanders: ‘We will never negotiate your sovereignty away’

  • Message comes days after Argentine president promises ‘eternal fight’ for islands
  • Foreign Secretary William Hague phones Uruguayan counterpart to discuss Mercosur blockade

By
Jill Reilly

Last updated at 5:00 PM on 23rd December 2011

Pledge: Prime Minister David Cameron arriving today in Prague, has pledged not to give up the Falkland's sovereignty

Promise: David Cameron, pictured arriving in Prague today for the funeral of Vaclav Havel, has pledged not to give up the Falkland’s sovereignty

In a Christmas message to the Falkland Islands, Prime Minister David Cameron has insisted Britain will not give up their sovereignty.

He pledged: ‘We will never negotiate on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands unless you, the Falkland Islanders, so wish.

‘No democracy could ever do otherwise.’

His statement comes days after Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner claimed Britain was ready to use force to seize other countries’ natural resources ‘anywhere, anyhow’.

Mrs Kirchner pledged an ‘eternal fight’ for the disputed islands which Britain has held since the 1830s and fought a brief but bloody war over in 1982.

Cameron also used the message to insist that Britain wanted to work with Argentina.

He said in his statement: ‘It is in our interests that we have a constructive relationship with Argentina.


Brief but bloody war: Argentine president Cristina Kirchner pledged an 'eternal fight' for the disputed islands which Britain has held since the 1830s and fought over in 1982

Brief but bloody war: Argentine president Cristina Kirchner pledged an ‘eternal fight’ for the disputed islands which Britain has held since the 1830s and fought over in 1982

‘There is common ground to be found on issues like the global economy and climate change.

He continued: ‘We want to work with Argentina on those issues.

‘But
the Argentine government has continued to make statements which
challenge your right to self-determination, and we can never accept
that.’

Argentina has repeatedly claimed
ownership of the Falklands and the dispute has escalated since the
exploration for oil in in the islands’ territorial waters in recent years.

There were newspaper reports yesterday claiming that Argentina has prepared secret plans for a new invasion.

 Diplomacy: Uruguay President Jose Mujia and Mrs Kirchner at the Mercosur summit in Montevideo. He claims the decision to ban Falklands flagged shipping was purely economic

Diplomacy: Uruguay President Jose Mujia and Mrs Kirchner at the Mercosur summit in Montevideo. He claims the decision to ban Falklands flagged shipping was purely economic

Foreign Secretary William Hague is today due
to try and defuse the situation by phoning his Uruguayan counterpart
to discuss his country’s support of a shipping ban on
Falkland Islands vessels introduced earlier this week.

Mr Hague arranged to speak
by phone with Luis Almagro about the powerful regional trading bloc
Mercosur, which includes Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, which has banned
ships flying the Falkland Islands flag from docking in their ports.

Mr Hague was expected to tell Mr Almagro that the ban is unfair and to urge Uruguay to reconsider its stance to avoid damaging relations between the two countries.

He was also set to reiterate Britain’s determination to protect the right of Falklanders to determine their future.

Uruguayan president Jose Mujica has already sought to ease tension by insisting he had nothing against the UK and admitting he supported the ban for economic reasons.


graphic

Writing on an official presidential
website, he said his primary concerns were his country’s tourism and
construction industries and bilateral trade between Uruguay and
Argentina.

TOUGH NEW FOREIGN LAND LIMITS IN ARGENTINA

Argentina yesterday imposed tough new limits on foreign ownership of farmland. Voted 62-1 by the senate, it stops non-Argentines from holding title to more than 2,500 acres.

It also means across the nation  no more than 15 per cent of the farmland can be sold to foreigners, and no more than 30 per cent of foreign-owned land can be held by people from the same nationality.

Exceptions include foreigners who are married to Argentine citizens, have Argentine children or have five years of permanent residency.

He added: ‘Whenever relations with Argentina deteriorate, our economy and employment suffers.’

The growing tension lead to a call from former Navy chief Lord West, a veteran of the 1982 conflict, for a military show of force.

Richard Ottaway, chairman of the influential Commons foreign affairs committee, responded by asking Mr Hague to act swiftly to stop the diplomatic row worsening.

In another development Mrs Kirchner yesterday named a replacement ambassador to Britain ahead of the
30th anniversary of the Falklands War in April.

The post has been vacant for more than two years since Frederico Mirre retired at the end of 2008.

Mrs
Kirchner decided against sending a replacement in protest at British
government support for the start of new oil exploration around the
disputed Falkland Islands.

A
new ambassador was not expected to be named until the end of 2012.

New boss: Argentina will appoint a new ambassador to London for the first since 2008

New boss: Argentina will appoint a new ambassador to London for the first time since 2008

The dispute over the Falklands began to escalate in January last year when oil exploration rigs arrived off the islands.

Rockhopper Exploration, which carried out test drilling in the waters around the islands, said in September it had made significant finds and could begin pumping by 2016.

Britain has around 1,200 service personnel on the islands, and there are three Royal Navy warships in the area along with four RAF Typhoon fighter bombers.

Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have not been moderated.

What the hell are all those boastful Spaniards and Portuguese doing down in South America. They should all be sent back where they came from.

People should realize that at the moment it is Argentina that is breaking international law by blockading the Falkland Islands. Moreover, they should also realize that far from being defenceless like last time in 1982 the islands have a very good defence system that would see of any aggressive move from Argentina until we could reinforce those Islands and that it would take less than 24 hours to do so as we do not need what we had last time. We now have large transporters that can carry state of the art war equipment along with troops to reinforce the garrison against any Argentines who managed to get ashore. We also have battled hardened troops that have fought in Iraq and in Afghanistan that know the art of war. So be warned Argentina just like last time we will not be bullied like you bully your next door country’s that claim to be on your side and but who will slink away and laugh at you just like they did the last time.

In the past great wars have evolved from little issues, particularly in times of depression. I do hope that the sabre rattling from any interested party does not descend in to a situation that could threaten world peace. What I can not understand is once again people, (probably those who are excused from any potential conflict), are demanding that both British and Argentinian youths should fight in a conflict that to me seems all about politics and supporting unpopular head’s of state rather than fighting because either country is under threat. Remember as Wilfred Owen stated “……The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori.”
– Malthus, Blackburn,
Great comment Malthus , worth a vis

I will get lots of red arrows for this. How come the Falklands are British, one can see that the island is near the coast of Argentina.
– Jenna, Hampshire
Just do a little historical research before you post comments on a topic, Jenna.

if i were a falkland islander id be applying for an argentinian passport asap…you cant believe cameron or his cronies….

red arrows.why are people so stupid on this site? it is a fact that the falkland islands have a defence force.look on google if you want

I actually did a little research on this subject the last time it made news. It seems the people on the Island are happy with the status quo. If that’s the case then it’s worth fighting to keep it that way.

Carlos, Buenos Aires Argentina, 23/12/2011 22:36 Pretending to have a poor grasp of english doesn’t make your pretence at being from argentina any more real troll.

Not a bad pledge for the PM who just left Britain without any aircraft carriers to fly sorties from for two years until the new super carriers are completed…

When are you all going to wake up. They dont belong to Britain at all. they belong to rich oil companies. How many of you are daft enough to think that when these companies start benefitting from the dead victims of the conflict that you as Britains will all receive a bonus cheque of a few thousand quid each from the oil because they are Britains islands. Dont you all recall Blaire getting a 20 million quid handout from these oil companies for stealing sadams oil for them.

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