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UK & Argentine Falklands Rapprochement

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UK & Argentine Falklands Rapprochement

Old 21st Dec 2016, 05:36
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UK & Argentine Falklands Rapprochement

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...-falklands-war

Britain and Argentina appear to have made significant headway towards improving relations after reaching an agreement to identify the bodies of more than 100 unknown Argentinian soldiers buried on the Falklands Islands after the 1982 war. The two countries also agreed to increase the number of flights between Argentina and the islands, which they claim as the Malvinas.

The 74-day war, which began when Argentina seized the islands and Britain sent a taskforce to retake them, saw 649 Argentinian and 255 British soldiers, as well as three Falkland islanders, lose their lives.

Under the agreement announced on Tuesday, the Red Cross will assemble a team of forensic experts, including two Argentinians, who will retrieve DNA samples from 123 unidentified Argentinian combatants buried at at Darwin Cemetery on East Falkland. The samples will then be compared against the samples taken from the volunteer Argentinian families. Work on identifying the remains will begin early next year, according to the Argentinian foreign ministry’s statement.

The two governments also announced that talks are proceeding smoothly for the opening of extra flights between the South American mainland and the islands. FCO minister Sir Alan Duncan tweeted that Argentina and Britain had “agreed a way forward on new flights from Falkland Islands to Latin America”. Press reports in Argentina indicated that these could include a flight from São Paulo, Brazil, and Mount Pleasant airport near Port Stanley, the capital of the islands, stopping over at Argentina’s capital city, Buenos Aires. The Argentinian foreign ministry said in its statement: “Both countries will negotiate with the air authorities in Brazil and Chile to determine what the stopovers will be.”

At the moment a twice-weekly flight is operated by the British ministry of defence from the United Kingdom to the Falklands, as well as a weekly flight from Punta Arenas in Chile that makes a monthly stopover at Rio Gallegos in Argentina.

Relations between London and Buenos Aires have improved significantly since Argentina’s president, Mauricio Macri, took office a year ago. Macri abandoned the confrontative attitude of former president Cristina Kirchner, who restricted hydrocarbon exploration in the area around the islands and at one point barred sea cruisers bound for the Falklands from docking at Argentinian ports.

The agreement was signed in London by Sir Alan Duncan, minister for Europe and the Americas at the Foreign Office, and Argentinian foreign deputy minister Pedro Villagra Delgado. The signing was attended by Falkland Islands officials.
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Old 21st Dec 2016, 14:31
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I wonder if the MOD will start prosecuting Falklands vets for "murdering" Argentinians, you know, as part of the healing process

Last edited by Fonsini; 21st Dec 2016 at 14:42.
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Old 21st Dec 2016, 15:47
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ORAC,
Yes, things are easing diplomatically, but some of my friends in the Falklands are more fearful now of this new administration. They say the last one was looney, but this is more suave and subtle. The overall aim to take over the 'Malvinas' still remains.
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Old 22nd Dec 2016, 11:38
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Quite. When Spain jabbers Gib...Gib...Gib as the price of its Vote to endorse a Brexit settlement, Arg will gently ask its cousin to add Las Malvinas...
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Old 22nd Dec 2016, 11:48
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People I know in the FI always said that if the Argies had kept up their softly softly approach in the 70's they'd be part of Argentina now - and those around at the time thought it was a realistic option as HMG couldn't give a stuff about them........
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Old 22nd Dec 2016, 14:25
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Quite. When Spain jabbers Gib...Gib...Gib as the price of its Vote to endorse a Brexit settlement,
The idiots in the Foreign Office missed their golden opportunity when Spain was allowed into the EU without them formally denouncing all and any claims on Gib.
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Old 23rd Dec 2016, 10:16
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Orsini - you never know....
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Old 23rd Dec 2016, 11:21
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I think the offshore oil, fisheries and proximity to Antarctica will guarantee our interest for many years to come................

[Cynic]

Arc
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Old 23rd Dec 2016, 23:25
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A long way to go BUT the idealist in me would hope that a pragmatic approach from Argentina could provide Argentina with some fiscal stability and the means to improve their society and most importantly bring political enlightenment...as I said, a LONG way to go..
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Old 24th Dec 2016, 08:52
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Well how many Argies actually want to go and live in the FI? Probably count them on the fingers of one hand - I can see them replacing the Chileans and Saints who work there for the high wages and then bugger off home but live there permananetly?????
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Old 24th Dec 2016, 16:49
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Probably count them on the fingers of one hand
By what means have you arrived at this conclusion?
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Old 24th Dec 2016, 17:12
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West Coast, I dare say Heathrow Harry has been there hence his conclusion
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Old 24th Dec 2016, 17:27
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I've been to North Dakota many times where today it is exceedingly cold and typographically boring. You can watch your dog run away for a week it's so flat. Despite having been there and and finding reason to cede it to Canada, the growth rate is enviable.

New horizons will always attract new comers, be it for adventure, for profit or escaping a past life. That's human nature. In no way saying the Argies have a right to, but if offered the opportunity, there'd be more than a handful showing up.
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Old 24th Dec 2016, 18:16
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Regardless of the political situation, I think this rapprochement is long overdue and the soldiers need to be put properly to rest and there families informed. I always found the "soldier known only to God" markings as being very saddening.
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Old 24th Dec 2016, 20:41
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West Coast,
The Falkland Islands are not in any way like North Dakota except for the big sky. The typography, flora and fauna are certainly very interesting. The climate is actually quite pleasant, the only drawback being the wind. Most of my friends there have come from many generations of British settlers. It is their land and they want it to remain so and keep their strong link to the UK. If you are from the USA, you would certainly fight to keep it.
Great news that the Argentinians can finally identify their dead, God knows we certainly lost many of our own.
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Old 24th Dec 2016, 22:05
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You're aiding my point Mach. The thought that Argies wouldn't want to move in if offered the chance is laughable.
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Old 25th Dec 2016, 07:02
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I would suggest that there are more similarities with Alaska.

Inhospitable climate, low permanent population, servicing the needs of a much larger oil, gas and mining economy.

Tourists and temporary economic migrants doeth not a settler make.

I expect that FI would become more of a tax haven than a viable industrial economy kept alive by overly large ego's

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Old 25th Dec 2016, 21:04
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Argentina has no claim whatsoever to islands out in the South Atlantic which are British territory.
By all means let them identify and repatriate their dead whose demise is entirely the fault of Galtieri but no rapprochement is possible whilst their leaders try to use such a bogus claim to ingratiate themselves with their Argentinian citizens.

Galtieri was a destroyer who ruined a good relationship between our two countries.
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Old 26th Dec 2016, 07:52
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there's plenty of identical country to the FI in Southern Argentina which isn't exactly overrun by people either.... my FI friends tell me they reckon the wages would be a major attraction but otherwise why would they go there?

If & when the oil kicks in the FI will be a very rich place - like other suddenly rich places you may well find the other generation decide to give up traditional practices and live the high life with all the menial tasks (like running the place) out sourced to Brits, Saints, Gurkhas, Argies and Chileans.........

PS before I'm accused of being a fully fledged surrender monkey - for the record the Argentinean Claim to the FI is probably one of the least credible "claims" to other people's territory floating around World Politics...................... they were wrong (and stupid) to invade and we were right to take it back
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Old 26th Dec 2016, 09:23
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If & when the oil kicks in the FI will be a very rich place
Dream along! Oil will take decades, if ever, to reach the $100+/bbl of recent years. I cannot think of a more expensive place to extract and transport oil than the Falklands Islands and I've been to a few.

They may continue to explore, assess and plug for a few more years yet but I cannot see any bonanza materialising.
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