In response, the Minister for the Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic, Guillermo Carmona, asserted that the UK was “violating the territorial integrity of Argentina and maintaining a colonial regime” in the Malvinas Islands.
Buenos Aires (NA). – The United Kingdom stressed that the Malvinas Islands are “and will remain British”, highlighting the tenth anniversary of the referendum held in the South Atlantic archipelago in which almost the entire population voted in favor of continuing to belong to the British family.
Falkland Islands (Malvinas) British. Ten years ago, 99.8% of the Islanders who voted said they wanted to remain part of the UK family,” said British Chancellor James Cleverly.
“Our commitment to the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) is unwavering,” he noted.
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a video clip on social networks of the telephone conversation he had with Al Jazeera legislator Leona Vidal Roberts on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the referendum.
For its part, the British Government of the Falkland Islands noted that the desire of the people of the archipelago to be part of the United Kingdom “remains strong today”.
The referendum promoted by the island authorities was held between 10 and 11 March 2013 and sought whether residents wanted the South Atlantic archipelago to remain a British Overseas Territory: 99.8% of voters supported membership in the United Kingdom.
A decade after that referendum, the British Malvinas government stated: “The polls have been opened for the inhabitants of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) to decide whether they want to retain our political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom. 99.8% voted to remain part of the United Kingdom family and that sentiment remains. strong today.”
“The referendum was a clear example of the Falkland Islanders expressing their right to self-determination,” the local authorities confirmed in a post on social media.
On that occasion, Argentina rejected the results of the referendum, and the then president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, leveled by saying that it was “a referendum that was as if a group of squatters had voted if it continued to occupy the building or not”.
“The Malvinas are not Christinistas or Kirchnerists, they are Argentineans. We reaffirm once again our call for dialogue in agreement with the United Nations,” the current Vice-President added through her social networks.
Similarly, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner also indicated Argentina’s goal: “to achieve a solution that also takes into account the interests of those who live in our Malvinas Islands”.
Argentine response
The Minister for the Malvinas, Antarctica and the South Atlantic, Guillermo Carmona, asserted that the United Kingdom was “violating the territorial integrity of Argentina and maintaining the colonial regime” in the Malvinas Islands in response to the British Foreign Secretary, James Cleverley, who celebrated a disputed referendum held in 2013 on social networks.
The Argentine official noted that the aforementioned referendum “lacks legal value” under international law and called for “the resumption of negotiations on sovereignty” over the archipelago.
“You know, Mr. James Cleverly, that without endorsement or recognition by the United Nations, there are allegations referéndum Carmona posted on his official Twitter account, “It lacks the legal value of international law.”
Carmona noted that after ten years of the referendum, “they did not get recognition because they did not comply with the UN Charter or Resolution 2065” of the UN General Assembly.
“The United Kingdom is violating the territorial integrity of Argentina and maintaining a colonial regime more than 13,000 kilometers from its capital. Your contacts today are further proof of the colonial nature of the relationship your government has with the Malvinas Islands,” said Carmona.
In addition, the Minister certified that Argentina “fights for respect for international law” in the Malvinas Islands and that it maintains a “constructive and purposeful spirit”.
“Resuming negotiations on sovereignty is what international law commands and what Argentina is committed to. The Malvinas Islands are Argentine,” Carmona added.
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