Sgt Ian Mckay VC Falkland Islands War -Sabaton back in control

Time to respect the wishes of the Falkland Islanders

Invaders.


Thirty-three years ago, Argentina invaded the Falklands and the British liberated it - not the other way around.

Thirty-three years ago today, Argentina illegally invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic.

Against the odds, the then British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, mobilised a task force and successfully liberated the islands two months later. This tragic war ended up needlessly costing the lives of 255 British and more than 649 Argentine soldiers.

Today, Argentina has not given up on its tenuous claim to the islands. This is because it offers a convenient distraction to Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s political and economic woes at home.

Spurious claims

Argentina claims that the Falkland Islands are theirs for two reasons: geographical proximity and the (incorrect) belief that they inherited the islands from Spain upon receiving independence. Both of these claims are spurious.

A quick glance at the globe explains why the first claim is ridiculous. Using the argument of geographical proximity would mean that, if it wanted, Morocco could have a claim on the Canary Islands, for example.

The second claim defies historical facts. The last Spanish settlement on the Falkland Islands left in 1811. What we today call Argentina declared independence from Spain in 1816.

Therefore, at the time of Argentine independence and the collapse of the Spanish Viceroyalty, Argentina could not inherit what Spain did not have to give.

Read more HERE 

(RG) Yes it is time the Argentinians respected the wishes of the Falklands Islanders but they don't and never will.

HL1489 – Falkland Islands: Armed Forces (Answered)

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated annual cost to the public purse of maintaining the United Kingdom’s military presence in the Falkland Islands.

Earl Howe. The total annual running cost of the garrison in the Falkland Islands (including infrastructure costs) is around £85 million. In addition, as part of the Falkland Islands Defence Review, £180 million will be invested in improvements to the infrastructure over the next ten years.Read more HERE 


(RG) Worth every penny

FALKLAND ISLANDS AWARDED SOUTH ATLANTIC MEDAL

The South Atlantic Medal (with Rosette) as presented to the Falkland Islands today at our Liberation Day reception.

Sgt Ian McKay VC, Falkland Islands memorial

WE WILL REMEMBER HIM  R.I.P.

Why Did the British Invade the Falkland Islands?

This question originally appeared on Quora, the best answer to any question. Ask a question, get a great answer. Learn from experts and access insider knowledge. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.

Answer by Stephen Tempest, qualified amateur historian:

An English ship under Capt. John Strong in 1690 was the first to explore the Falkland Islands in detail, map them, and give them a name. However, that can't be called an invasion, since nobody lived there at the time except for penguins.

In 1765, a naval expedition commanded by Commodore John Byron (grandfather of the famous poet) surveyed a landing site and established a settlement, called Port Egmont. The first British colonists arrived the following year. The primary purpose was to establish a naval base where ships could be repaired and take on supplies in the region. This might possibly count as an invasion, since a group of about 75 French colonists were living on the islands; they'd arrived the previous year. However, the British hadn't known the French were there. The two settlements were 85 miles apart and didn't even find out about each other's existence for several months. There was no fighting between them.

A few years later, Spain pressured France to hand over its settlement on the Falklands to them. France agreed in return for gold as compensation. Spain demanded that Britain also hand over its settlement on the basis that the entire South Atlantic was a Spanish sphere of influence and nobody else was allowed to colonize it. Britain did not accept this.Read More  HERE 


(RG) Not quite the answer our Argentine readers might like.

Japan depicts the Falkland Islands as politically distinct from Argentina

(RG) Congratulations to Japan for being correct about the Falklands.

Ship to Shore Logistics – 03 (History – 1982 Falkland Islands)

If the amphibious operations in Normandy were unprecedented because of scale those in 1982 in the Falkland Islands were equally remarkable, nor for scale but for the huge distance involved. Another breathtaking feature of Operation Corporate was the speed in which it was mounted and the degree of improvisation that would in the end, be needed.

One might argue that even taking into account Inchon and Suez it was the worlds most complex and demanding amphibious operation since D Day.

Since VE day and Suez the UK’s amphibious capabilities had dwindled both in scale and capability, the Royal Marines concentrating on their Northern Europe role.

When Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in 1982 the scale of the challenge had many echoes of D Day; a need for joint service cooperation and a number of technical challenges to overcome for example. What we did not have was the luxury of time, no time to develop new and novel solutions, no time for testing and no time for practice beyond what was available on the journey south.

Due to the short timescales British Rail could not reposition their rolling stock to get the War Material Reserve (about 9,000 tonnes just for 3CDO, 30 days combat supplies and 60 days of general stores) to the ships so instead, a fleet of RCT and civilian trucks were used.

More or less, we went with what we had.

In little over a month from the invasion, the first ships had departed the UK on their 8,000 mile journey South  Read more    HERE 

Businessmen 'Yomp' Across Falklands for Charity

A group of businessmen have arrived back in the UK after swapping their suits for hiking boots and 'yomping' across the Falkland Islands for charity.

The 12 members of the April Fool’s Club followed the route taken by the Royal Marines of 45 Commando to liberate the islands in 1982, despite being more accustomed to boardrooms in Britain than peat bogs and sub-zero temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere.

Julie Knox followed their progress in the Falklands, while Kate Wathall was at their homecoming.Read more   HERE 

Argentina's fury at plans for statue of Margaret Thatcher on Falkland Islands

The planned unveiling of a statue of Margaret Thatcher on the Falkland Islands has sparked a furious new row between Britain and Argentina. The bronze sculpture of the Prime Minister whose forces freed the islanders after the 1982 invasion will be unveiled in the capital Stanley next month. But Argentina's ambassador to London, Alicia Castro, has condemned the statue 'in our Malvinas Islands' as a provocative move, saying: 'What the UK is doing is celebrating war.'Her anger was echoed by veterans' leader Mario Volpe in Buenos Aires. He said: 'The statue is not a symbol of democracy. It's her fault so many died.' He said Mrs Thatcher 'could have avoided the war and the deaths'. The memorial, to be unveiled by her son, Sir Mark Thatcher, at a ceremony on January 10, is seen for the first time in our exclusive photograph.Read More HERE



(RG) As we all know what we do on the Falkland Islands has got nothing whatsoever to do with Argentina, every time a penguin farts they think it is a provocative act. Invading someone else s Country and terrorizing men woman and children is a Provocative act. Great tribute to the Iron Lady.

Falkland Islands given medal for showing 'indomitable will' during Argentine invasion

THE Falkland Islands has collectively been awarded a medal today in recognition of their 'indomitable will' during the Argentine invasion.The archipelago were today honoured for the "personal commitment" they showed in defending their right of self-determination during the 1982 war. The South Atlantic medal was handed to almost 30,000 troops and civilians who served in the operation to liberate the Falklands from Argentine forces. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said: "I am pleased to inform the House that in 2015 the South Atlantic Medal will be presented, on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen, to the Falkland Islands, in recognition of the assistance provided to the Forces of the United Kingdom during the liberation of the Islands in 1982. "The Islanders' individual acts of courage exemplified the indomitable will and personal commitment to defending the Islands' right of self determination." Prime Minister David Cameron will honour the people of the Falklands Islands during his annual Christmas message to them.Read More HERE

(RG) Some people will be happy with this award, some particularly those that hate the Tories will say Cameron is using it for his political means leading up to a General Election. I like many are extremely disillusioned with politics in the UK, but I think this award is a good thing, the Islanders deserve this award. I also think a medal should be awarded to all servicemen that have served their Country, particularly in the cold War era, like the awards the Australian military get, but that’s another story. I sure the Argentine Government will have a moan about this but that’s nothing new.

Fifty years since Falklands incursion and landing by Argentine light aircraft

This Monday is the fiftieth anniversary of an odd stunt by Argentine Cessna pilot Miguel Fitzgerald who landed his light aircraft on the Stanley racecourse, left a note of protest about the ‘illegal’ British occupation of the Falkland Islands, handed an Argentine flag to a bemused bystander, and flew away again.Fitzgerald’s story was recorded by a number of newspapers in 1964, and he told them the idea of flying to the Islands was not a new one. Speaking of his exploits, he said in fact that pilots who flew from the Argentine Monte Grande airfield spoke of it often, although it was generally considered a kind of joke or prank idea. However it was one that had been in Fitzgerald’s head for fourteen years he told one interviewer.
His was not the first attempt though, in 1952, Aldo Comi along with Cesar Alvarez, an Aerodrome flight instructor, had departed from Rio Grande with a flight plan to Ushuaia. Once in the air they announced they were cancelling the flight plan filed and were heading to the Falklands; but weather prevented them landing.
They lost sight of the Islands and in a seven hour flight returned to Comodoro Rivadavia. But why September 1964? Read more HERE  

Miguel Fitzgerald  was lucky he didn't get a Rapier missile up his arse.

WE SHALL DEFEND THE FALKLAND ISLANDS

Yes Argentina, we do have nuclear submarines.

Argentina has stepped up its sabre-rattling rhetoric over the Falkland Islands by accusing Britain of sending nuclear missiles to the South Atlantic.The South American country's foreign minister claimed that Trident nuclear missiles were being carried on board a submarine deployed to the region by the Royal Navy.
It comes as tensions continue to rise over the islands, which are claimed by the Argentinians as their territory.
The allegation was immediately rebuffed by a senior British diplomat, who also described claims by the Argentinians that military bases on the island could be used to launch attacks on South America as "absurd".
Hector Timerman, the Argentinian foreign minister, accused the British of sending the nuclear submarine into a nuclear-free zone and lodged a formal protest at the United Nations.He said Britain was "militarising the region" after the Royal Navy sent one of its most advanced warship to the islands, and as Prince William enters the second week of his six-week tour of duty there as an RAF search and rescue pilot Read More   HERE


Yes Argentina, we do have nuclear submarines, we even have conventional ones, you don’t like our submarines do you? Remember the Belgrano? Your navy is rotting and sinking away in your dockyards, your Country is broke, you even owe us millions. But rather than pay your debts you would rather make idol threats. So unless you want the Royal Navy to change Buenos Aires into a car park, you would be advised to wind your necks in. Don’t worry you would be able to build some slums again in a thousand or so years.

Argentina’s claim...????

Argentina if she has a claim, has to:
1. Disprove British sovereignty since 1765.
2. Prove that Britain abandoned the Falkland Islands between 1774 and 1833.
3. Prove that the Falkland Islands were part of the Viceroyalty of La Plata.
4. Prove that Spain ceded the Falkland Islands to Argentina (assuming #3 is correct).
5. Prove that Argentina was the sole heir… Because, one must understand that the Viceroyalty also included Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and parts of Chile and Peru. This brings the problem of “identity of heir”.
6. Prove that the “Convention of Settlement” of 1849/1850 was not a “Peace Treaty”, and that the usual and normal internationally accepted rules and practices of peace treaties do not apply in this case.
7. Disprove Argentina's acquiescence, 1849-1888 and after 1888, in Britain’s possession of the Falklands (i.e. accepted it by action or inaction).
8. Prove that the basic human right of SELF-DETERMINATION does not apply to the Falkland Islanders.

As you can see Argentina has no real claim...

The lion roars but does not inspire fear any more': Argentina shrugs off British military threats to make fresh claim to the Falklands.

Argentina today hit back at ‘verbal attacks’ David Cameron over the future of the Falkland Islands, insitsing the threat of British military action no longer inspires fear.
Hector Timerman, Argentina’s foreign minister, accused the UK of behaving in ‘an aggressive fashion’ and having ‘no moral authority’ to lay claim to the Falklands.
And he vowed that Argentina will continue to battle to reclaim what it calls the Malvinas, dismissing Britain as the ‘lion roars but does not inspire fear any more’.


Tensions between London and Buenos Aires escalated in 2013, despite a referendum of Falklanders in March showing 99.7 per cent wanting to remain a UK overseas territory.
The death of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who sent warships the South Atltanic after Argentina invaded in 1982, renewed speculation about whether the UK could mount a similar military defence today.
In a Christmas message, David Cameron vowed to counter Argentine claims to the Falklands and attempts to inflict damage on the islands’ economy, adding: ‘Britain will always be ready to defend the Falkland Islands.’
But in a 1,900-word newspaper article entitled 'A peaceful struggle', Mr Timerman claimed the message appeared to forget ‘the peace message that Christmas should inspire’.Read more  HERE  

"Hey Argentina,  be under no illusion the British Lion has plenty of roar left, in fact it is capable of ripping you to shreds. I liken you to a bar drunk that keeps getting pissed and picking fights with a profesional  boxer. Remember your navy in the Falklands war, well it ran scared of our submarines, and it will run scared again.  Sober up and realise that The Falkland Islands are BRITISH and they will always be BRITISH…End of discussion."

Malvinas - Argentine UN Discussion (Warning Adult Language)

An education video about Argentine psychosis over the Falkland Islands which they claim to administer as the imaginary Malvinas Islands. — at UN New York.

Jet fighter threat to the Falkland Islands

SPAIN is selling a fleet of Mirage fighter jets to Argentina in a £10million deal that fuels suspicions over relations between the nations who are both opposed to British territorial possessions, writes Marco Giannangeli.President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner approved the deal, which will give Argentina the capability to attack the Falklands with laser-guided bombs. The 20 aircraft sold to the Argentine military are at Spain’s Albacete air base and will be shipped to Tandil air base south of Buenos Aires.Built in France, the multi-role fighter has a top speed of 1,320mph and a range of 500 miles, boosting Argentina’s ability to “pester” the Falklands from its southern air bases.Spain will provide spares and a training simulator and will train the initial batch of Argentine air force pilots selected from the military’s Fuerza Aerea Argentina Grupo 6 de Caza of the 6th Air Brigade.The Ministry of Defence said the Falklands have adequate air protection from two RAF Eurofighter Typhoon fighters.Read More  HERE 


"WELL THESE AIRCRAFT MUST BE A GIFT FROM ONE SKINT COUNTRY TO ANOTHER SKINT COUNTRY, PLUS THIS IS JUST ONE SMALL PART OF A MILITARY FORCE, THE ARGIES DONT HAVE A NAVY OR MUCH OF AN ARMY AT LEAST ONE THATS WILLING TO FIGHT AND DIE FOR THE MALVINAS, MOST ARGENTINIANS ARE MORE CONCERNED WITH PUTTING FOOD ON THEIR PLATES AND A ROOF OVER THEIR HEADS."

The Falkland Islanders: People or Population?

"The people who live on the Falkland Islands do not constitute a people. They are British subjects who happen to live on the Falkland Islands".
- Richard Gott

Richard Gott is a British journalist, historian and a former Latin America correspondent known for his radical politics. He is also a strong supporter of Argentina’s claim to the Falkland’s and believes the Falkland islander’s views and thoughts are “completely and absolutely irrelevant”. This is because he thinks they are just an ordinary British population and not a people of any difference. This is also a primary claim of Argentina too and has escalated since the 2013 Falkland Islands Sovereignty Referendum.

This seemingly trivial distinction between population and people is of crucial importance as the Charter of the United Nations upholds the right of self-determination for all peoples. By trying to deny the Islanders their status as a distinct people or even sizeable population worthy of self-determination, Argentina tries to bypass principles of international law intended to protect small nations from the aggression of larger nations.

First of all nowhere in the principles of self-determination does it set a minimum population size to qualify for self-determination. In terms of sheer justice and law the right to self-determination is paramount. For that very reason the International Court of Justice has already ruled out the possibility of exceptions, as the point of self-determination is to protect small nations against aggressive larger ones, if nations get excluded because of size then the very principle is being destroyed.

The islanders gained full British citizenship with the British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983, after the Falklands War but it does not matter how the UK government (nor the Argentine government) identifies them. The important reality is that the Falkland Islanders absolutely DO constitute a people as they ultimately have a unique culture different from that of other peoples of British descent and they even self-identify themselves as a distinct people.

Homeland
Most of the Islanders do not refer to the UK as "home" most look on it as the old country. It may have been where many ancestors came from, but its not home to them. They may go on holidays to the UK but the idea of living there doesn't really enter their thinking - after a week or two they want to get back to their own country.

Political status
They are self-governing and self-sufficient with their own locally elected government that makes all internal policy decisions about the Islands. As with other British overseas territories the relationship with Britain has modernised and the Islands have developed economically and governmentally apart from defence. A military base resides there as a result of the invasion in 1982 by Argentina but its presence has remained there at the desire of the Falkland Islands government and not the UK government. It should be of no concern to local foreign countries as it has reduced in size over the past 30 years to the "minimum necessary force" to defend the islands.

Immigration
They even have full control over their immigration where a UK citizen is treated the same as a Russian if they wish to live and work there. Oil and other natural resources to be found belong to the Falklands and the revenue will go to the Falkland Island Government, not the UK government.

Industries
The islanders operate a £13 million fishing industry landing over 200,000 tonnes of fish, as well as a hospitality industry worth £7.8 million annually. They also gain up to 55,000 tourist visitors each year which has also overall created a very successful tourist industry. The Falklands is a favourite destination for wildlife fans as thousands of penguins, over 65% of the world’s black-browed albatross population, plus sea lions, elephant seals, dolphins, killer whales and much more.

Crime
There is very little chance of crime, many people even leave the keys in the ignition of their cars and some houses don’t even have locks on the doors.

Language
Their language is different. It’s English but with more of a different accent/dialect, than spoken in a lot of the UK. Notable Falkland Islands terms are "kelper" meaning a Falkland Islander (from the kelp surrounding the islands), "smoko" for a smoking break (as in Australia and New Zealand) and even the word "yomp" which was used by the British armed forces during the Falklands War.

Architecture
The Islanders have their own style of architecture. Falkland houses are renowned for being brightly painted with immaculately maintained gardens, the style of cladding and colours vary immensely. Older houses frequently have intricately carved wooden fascia boards.

Currency
Specific issues of banknotes have been made for the Falkland Islands since 1899. Coins have been minted specifically for the Falklands since 1974. Animals indigenous to the Falklands are printed on their currency like the Gentoo Penguin, South American Sea Lion, Warrah, and the Upland Goose.

Cuisine
Strongly favoured cuisines can be found; the Islanders’ commonly have chicken and pork products from Chile, Uruguayan beef, seafood salads with local herbs and the sea trout etc. The Smoko is well known in all Falkland Islands and it basically consists in a snack of tea or coffee and homemade cakes. Lamb is extremely popular in the UK but mutton is eaten less than it used to be, however the Islanders especially enjoy cuisines that involve mutton as it was and still is readily available in the Falkland Islands and cheap. They actually eat much more red meat than a person in the UK would.

Community and Race relations
They have a sizeable Chilean community and they are having an effect on their culture with cumbias and they like being heard in the Islands' pubs. Inter-ethnic marriages are happening and children being born from these. There are children now who are mixed Chilean, St Helenian and Filipino blood, and many more. They are a very diverse, but unique, society.

Indigenous Heritage
Although the archaeological record shows that indigenous Americans visited the Islands, there was never an established indigenous population but the islanders have still managed to inherit native blood. Many Chileans, Peruvians and even Argentines have immigrated there over the past hundred years and because of interracial marriages with South Americans children have been born with indigenous ancestry. The Peruvians in particular are genetically closer to the indigenous population and some individuals have Mapuche, Kolla grandparents etc.

History and Modern day
The Islanders’ ancestors emigrated from Britain as Argentina's did from Spain, but like Argentina they have today grown into their own self-governing community and have lived there peacefully for more than 170 years. The fact that many families there have traced their routes in the Falklands back to a time before Argentina existed in the form that it does today, makes the Falklanders as much a people as those who call themselves Argentine. They have even been settled there since before parts of Argentina were settled; Patagonia, for instance, was not properly settled by Argentina until the genocidal Conquest of the Desert in the 1870s. The only difference between the Falkland Islanders and the Argentinians is that the former did not slaughter an established indigenous population to gain their new country, the latter did.

Self-identify
The latest Falkland Islands Government census in 2012 indicates a resident population of 2,841 of whom 59% consider themselves to be ‘Falkland Islander’, 29% British, 9.8% St Helenian and 5.4% Chilean. The majority of the Islanders consider themselves to have become their own identify so they should ultimately have the same rights as any other non-indigenous people of the New World.

Final Conclusion...
By all reasonable standards the Falkland Islanders ARE a people and therefore have the right to self-determination as enshrined in Article 1.2 of the Charter of the United Nations.

Falklands: “last thing we want is religion inserted in the dispute”

A top Falkland Islands’ politician and Britain's UN envoy shrugged off the idea of the Pope intervening in the long-running sovereignty dispute over the Falklands/Malvinas and South Atlantic islands, as was suggested at one point by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez.“The last thing we need is religion inserted in this” said Michael Summers, a veteran Falklands legislator who was one of two petitioners and representatives at the UN decolonization committee. “I certainly share the view that religion is unlikely to help solve this,” added Britain's UN ambassador Mark Lyall Grant.Read more  HERE