Falklanders would have BETTER lives under Argentina's rule' says minister

The claims come as Buenos Aires ramped up threats to lock up British oil executives who continue to explore for hydrocarbons around the islands.

But angry islanders rejected the boasts as ludicrous, with one suggesting Argentina just wanted Falkland revenues to help “plug up its debts”.

Speaking to the Sunday Express last night, Daniel Filmus, the South American country’s “Malvinas” secretary, and Argentina’s ambassador to London, Alicia Castro declared that islanders would live a “stress free” existence if only they accepted rule by Buenos Aires.

“We have no problem with the inhabitants of the Falklands; they are British and would have the right to remain British under Argentina administration,” said Secretary Filmus, during a visit to London.

“We are convinced that they would have everything to gain, even oil, if dialogue on this issue starts again.”

Ambassador Castro, whose official Belgravia residence boasts several pictures of her with Venezuela’s former socialist ruler Hugo Chavez, added: “The islanders are assigned a governor who is appointed in London and sent there, just like in colonial times.

“From the day that Argentina is allowed to exercise its sovereignty, they will be able to democratically choose their own authority. “

Asked whether Argentina recognised that the islands had a democratically-elected Legislative Assembly, Secretary Filmus replied: “We don’t recognise the MLA. It is illegitimate and their laws need to be approved by the Governor. We have a democracy.”

In fact, the eight-member assembly has powers to propose Bills or debates for the "the peace, order and good government” of the islands and only need the Governor’s permission when proposals affect taxes or finances.

Asked how much oil revenue the islanders would be allowed to keep, Mrs. Castro said under Argentina rule the islands may become part of one of the country’s 23 federal provinces, though this would only be worked out after bilateral discussions.

She added: "The islanders will be able to explore and exploit natural resources as any other Argentine province or state does, and enjoy the important revenues without being clandestine, as is happening now, because they are clearly on Argentina’s continental shelf.

“They will be able to use our free universities, our hospitals, and have a proper link with the continent and the world.” Read more HERE 


(RG) That is like Adolf Hitler saying that Jews would have a better life under NAZI rule.

How Defiant Falklanders Live With the Threat of War

With Britain and Argentina ratcheting up the military rhetoric, Falkland Islanders recall the 1982 conflict, and how the islands, and their lives, have transformed since.
A collective sigh emitted from approximately 2,000 Falkland Islanders this week as the long-suffering population attempted to get on with day-to-day life, in the face of dramatic newspaper headlines from British and international newspapers claiming an Argentine military invasion was imminent.

Britain announced this week it would spend $267 million over 10 years to “beef up” the Falklands’ defenses because of the “continuing threat” represented by Argentina. This, Argentina said, was a “provocation.”

Falkland Islander Jonathan Summers, 36, said: “It does appear the media and politicians are dramatizing it for their own benefit—the situation with Argentina is intrusive enough without it being sensationalized by people who don’t have to live with it on a daily basis.”

Just 3 years old when Argentine forces occupied the Falkland Islands in 1982, Summers said he only has vague images of the 74-day conflict between Britain and Argentina. But as a result of the ever-present political pressures from Argentina, like every other Islander young and old “the war” doesn’t seem like ancient history while the cold war continues.

“You never quite know what they’ll be up to next,” he said of the Argentine government. “But it generally involves threatening international companies that have some kind of connection with our industries. To be honest, nothing they could do would be too much of a surprise.”

In 1982, I lived with my grandmother in Stanley, the islands’ capital city. The daughter of East Falklands sheep farmers, like other children from “the Camp” (the name Islanders give to the rural areas outside of Stanley) I boarded in the capital in order to attend school.

In the early hours of April 2, 1982, my grandmother woke me with the words: “Wake up, Pet. The shooting’s started. You’ll have to come downstairs, I can hear guns.”
Read more   HERE