The clash between Argentina and the United Kingdom regarding the Malvinas issue is being covered in all the newspapers. We from, Expanish Spanish School, Buenos Aires think it is a good idea to provide you with a small summary of the issue.
The Malvinas Islands (Falkland Islands), currently controlled by the UK government, are being claimed by Argentina since the Falklands War, which occurred in 1982. The dispute between the two countries ended in victory for the UK, which already had possession of the territory before the war. Since then, Argentina is fighting for the right of the islands, stating that the island is Spanish heritage and it should be a part of Argentine territory.
The last major event of this dispute took place last Thursday (09-02-2012), when the Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner made a formal announcement stating to the United Nation (UN) that they are militarizing the South Atlantic. The request was made after the UK announced plans to send the destroyer HMS Dauntless, one of their most modern warships, to the region very soon.
The British government denied that it is militarizing the area and that the act was planned for over a year. The spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron said that the British defenses in the region remained unchanged. According to the Minister of Defense, Philip Hammond prince William, who currently is in the Malvinas, is not on the island to provoke, but to do a training regime.
Furthermore Cristina Kirchner announced the opening and evaluation of the Rattenbach report, a report that covers the actions of the Argentine dictatorship during the Falklands war. At that time, the defeat in the war helped undermine and remove the military regime in power. The conclusion will be announced during the course of March.
There are several reasons why countries fight for the regime in the Malvinas (Falklands). In addition to credibility, the area did not only become a major point of maritime traffic, but also very valuable for oil exploration.
Nearly 30 years (the war took place between April 2nd and June 14th 1982) after the Falkland conflict, the problems still remain. The war resulted into the death of 255 British soldiers, 649 Argentine and three local residents. In the recent denunciation made by Argentina, the UN Assembly in 1965 adopted resolution 2065, recognizing the dispute between the two countries and called on both countries to seek a peaceful agreement.
Argentina is in favor of the UN’s position; however it is rejected by the United Kingdom, which refuses to open a dialog. If the complaint is rejected by Argentine UN Security Council (as a permanent member, Britain has the right to veto any resolution against itself, which would result in rejection of the waiver), a possible next step of the Argentine government may be the presentation of the subject in the UN General Assembly, in which all countries that are part of the organization have direct voting and no veto.
In December of 2011, the Argentinean government won the support of Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, and since then, the countries decided to prevent access by vessels with flags Malvinas in its ports.
