Universities minister David Willetts will land in the Malvinas (Falklands) on Thursday amid rising tensions between Argentina and Britain over the islands. He is making the stop over on the islands en route to the Antarctic to review the work of scientists at the British Antarctic Survey.
Speaking ahead of his controversial visit to the islands, Willets once again repeated the UK government’s colonial policy, insisting the archipelago would remain British for as long as the islanders wanted it.
“What matters is the right of self-determination of the people in the Falklands,” he claimed. “They made it very clear they wish to remain British and this should be seen as part of Britain’s historic links to the south Atlantic and the Antarctic.”
This is while that the political observers questioned Britain’s constant claim that the people wished the islands to be part of UK colony. They wonder if there are any Argentinean descents still living in the islands to oppose Britain’s policies over the oil-rich region.
Right after the Malvinas war between Britain and Argentina, immigrants from the United Kingdom moved to the islands. Analysts believe the move was made by the UK government partly because they had expected that the Argentine government would once claim its “stolen” islands.
The deployment of the minister comes only a day after UK government planned to send members of UK Defence Select Committee to the islands to visit Britain’s military installations. It was also reported that the MPs would visit the crew working at the RAF aircraft there, which has lately been joined by an heir to throne, the Duke of Cambridge, on a six-week tour as a search and rescue pilot.
Britain, accused of militarizing the dispute over the islands sovereignty, also deployed its most sophisticated warship, HMS Dauntless, and a nuclear submarine to the South Atlantic to prevent Argentina’s possible counter-move.
Analysts stress that Britain is apparently planning to even rule the waves in the South Atlantic, as it deploys the country’s senior politicians and military warships to the Malvinas Islands a head of the 30th anniversary of the 1982 war.
SAB/JR/HE
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