Argentina urges Britain to 'end colonialism' and hand back Falklands

The London Guardian is reporting that in celebration of its resounding defeat in 1982, the silly woman who runs Argentina wants the English to hand the Falkland Islands over to her.

Thirty years after Britain and Argentina went to war over the Falklands, Argentina's populist president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, has returned to the fray with a blistering attack on British "colonialism" and a demand to hand back "Las Malvinas".


In a stinging letter to David Cameron, Fernández urges the UK to abide by a 1960 United Nations resolution urging member states to "end colonialism in all its forms and manifestations".

Britain should begin negotiations over the sovereignty of the islands, which were "forcibly stripped" from Argentina exactly 180 years ago, on 3 January 1833, she tells the prime minister.

Gee, I wonder if this ridiculous request has anything to do with how terribly unpopular she is in Argentina? This is what USA Today reported two weeks ago when Mrs. Kirchner decided to put the largest Argentine media company and a critic of President Fernández de Kirchner out of business:

Fernández, who succeeded her late husband, Nestor Kirchner, in office, has seen her popularity plummet in nationwide polls and insists that her enforcement of a law against media monopolies is not an attempt to mute bad press.

Mrs. Kirchner's position on the Falklands is, of course, popular in Argentina. That's why she is making this silly claim. However, her problem and the problem for all Argentine nationalists, is that the 3,000 people of the Falkland Islands want nothing to do with Argentina.

More from The Guardian:

Critics suggest that Fernández, an unashamed populist and nationalist, is seeking to deflect attention from social disharmony at home. The president's approval rating is sagging ahead of mid-term legislative elections in October. Argentinians support the "Malvinas" cause, which is written into the constitution. But they are also worried about pressing economic problems such as inflation, rising crime and corruption.

The question of just what the Falkland Islanders want will be settled soon in a referendum.

The Foreign Office (FCO) has categorically ruled out any new negotiations saying the future of the Falklands can only be decided by the islanders themselves in accordance with the UN principle of self-determination. The islanders are due to vote in a referendum later this year, which is expected to give overwhelming backing for the territory to remain British.

Other than physical proximity, there is nothing which links the people of the Falklands to Argentina. They speak English. They have a British culture. They trade with England. They want to be a part of Britain. If Argentina were to some day take over those islands, the residents would feel like they were being held hostage.