As part of the British self-determination pledge to justify the occupation of Malvinas Islands, inhabitants of the disputed territories have stated that they are not London’s “captives” and defended the results of the referendum they held in March to ratify their decision to remain an overseas territory of the UK.
Such were the statements made by islander James Mosh who has been rallying across Europe over the past days together with the member of the islands’ Legislative Assembly Roger Edwoods to defend the results of the referendum showing that 99.8 of the British inhabitants of Malvinas want to remain British.
Their European tour coincided with the news of Margaret Thatcher’s death and funeral, UK’s ruling Prime Minister during the 1982 South Atlantic War who decided the sinking of the Argentine ARA General Belgrano warship claiming the lives of 323 soldiers, half of Argentina’s total casualties during the armed conflict.
A member of the British army by that time Edwoods assured that Malvinas Islands’ population recalls ex PM Baroness with gratitude and blasted Argentina’s “male chauvinist” military who, he beleives, gave for granted Thatcher’s leadership to defend the resource-rich archipelago.
Both Mosh and Edwoods renewed UK’s position against Argentina’s long-standing sovereignty claims over Malvinas Islands. “They said that the referendum was nonsense but they have tried hard to criticize such nonsense,” Edwoods said as he questioned Argentina’s stance to reject the referendum as “illegal.”
Over the past years, Buenos Aires has urged London to abide by UN resolutions that call both parties to sit at the negotiating table and settle the controversy over Malvinas Islands, which Argentina considers have been illegally occupied by the UK in 1833.
Fuente: Buenos Aires Herald