Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman indicated this morning that the referendum Malvinas islanders will submit regarding their views of the archipelago political status is “mere advertising without any legal value.”
Before meeting with his British counterpart, William Hague, Timerman spoke with local Radio 10 reporters in an interview where the official assured that “there’s not a single country in the world supporting England’s position.”
Likewise, Timerman remembered that “The very United Nations have not given any recognition to these referendums when tried to be pursued around the world in the past, including the two times England tried to submit one of this kind, being last time in 1985.”
To end, the minister remarked that the dispute is “over the sovereignty of a territory that has been living under a situation of colonialism.”
Before heading to the British Parliament, Timerman will meet with the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Koji Sekimizu.
According to the Malvinas government, the Islands’ Executive Council has agreed that the Referendum would be held over two days, 10-11 March, «giving everyone the maximum opportunity to exercise their right to vote.»
It added that «the current political status of the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands is that they are an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom. The Islands are internally self-governing, with the United Kingdom being responsible for matters including defence and foreign affairs.»
«The people of the islands have the right to self-determination, which they can exercise at any time. Given that Argentina is calling for negotiations over the sovereignty this referendum is being undertaken to consult the people regarding their views on the political status of the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands,» it stressed.
The March referendum will ask islanders: «Do you wish the Falkland (Malvians) Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom? YES or NO.”
Source: Buenos Aires Herald