In 1995, the team convened by new President Arturo Umberto Illia kept the lights on at the State Department and the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. The best diplomats were called, and they came from everywhere. The problem they have to deal with is new.
You understand that It is inevitable to accept that the Malvinas issue is one of the areas to be decolonized. Self-determination was the fashion in the 1960s. Instead, we should demand that Argentina’s historic rights be applied along with territorial integrity.
The unexpected happens, the UK makes a number of mistakes and the country also receives important support in the various committees dealing with the issue. All of this is combined with a brilliant Argentine diplomacy. On December 16, 1965, UN Resolution 2065 (XV) was passed, which established this There is a sovereignty dispute between the United Kingdom and Argentinaand that to solve the problem they must rely on “the interests of the people,” not their wishes. They reject self-determination.
In plenary session 1398, the resolution sets out two points. First: “Invites the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to pursue without delay the negotiations recommended by the Special Committee to examine the situation with a view to the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, with a view to finding a peaceful solution to the problem, with due regard to the provisions and objectives of the Charter of the United Nations and General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV).” and the interests of the people of the Malvinas IslandsSecond: “Requires both Governments to report to the Special Committee and the General Assembly at the twenty-first session on the outcome of the negotiations.”
The most exciting topic for Argentines is undoubtedly the Malvinas. From the humblest places to the big cities, all areas have a connection to the islands. We agree that we must regain the “lost little sister”.
On the occasion of the discussion in the United Nations, the argument of the Argentine diplomat José María Ruda was presented in the UN General Assembly on September 9, 1964, in which he said: “It is only on the basis of an arbitrary and unilateral act of violence that England is today in the Malvinas.”
In fact, this is evident from the instructions given to the commander of the English corvette Clío on September 14, 1832: “He will measure the strength of the corvette under his command and act by force.” The islands were usurped on January 2, 1833.
Since then, a century has passed with repeated claims, including the fighting of a war in 1982 that lasted 74 days and in which 649 Argentine soldiers died. We then raised reasonable doubts about the UK’s ability to retake the islands on its own. Finally, A combination of factors leads us to defeat, but not resignation..
Based on UN Resolution 2065 (XV), we must develop a new strategy. As Sun Tzu said thousands of years ago, “Know your enemy and you will win a thousand battles.”
In the coming years the UK will begin to look inwards rather than outside its borders.
The Scottish National Parliament has requested a new independence referendum for 2023, as 45% voted for independence in the 2012 referendum. The Prime Minister’s Office requires the opinion of the UK Supreme Court, which will rule on November 23, 2022 that only the UK Parliament can call such a referendum. Undoubtedly this task will be repeated in a few years.
While in Northern Ireland, for the first time in history, the Catholic population in the 2022 census reports that Catholics, at 45.7 percent, outnumber all Protestants, who only reach 43.48 percent. In Southern Ireland, the governing party wants Irish unification, as does the majority party in Northern Ireland.
The social fabric of the UK is changing. There are already more than fifty Muslim Sharia laws in England and the London Commune is governed by descendants of Muslims, as are around thirty major cities in the United Kingdom. The economy is in crisis. What are we waiting for to establish a Consulate General in Scotland and Northern Ireland?
Since April 26, 1990, Tierra del Fuego has been the last province founded in Argentina. Its judicial district is not small, but one of the ten largest in the world. In addition to its own territory, it also includes the Malvinas, Antarctica and the entire maritime space. As a subnational unit, it has the characteristic of being bicontinental. When will it acquire the strategic importance conferred by the Constitution?
I have to bring you news. The world is changing. How does Argentina assume that the South Atlantic will be a more important scenario?
In 1949, NATO, the North Atlantic Organization, was founded. In 1986, UN Resolution 14/11 created the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone (ZPCAS), which consists of three South American countries and 21 African countries.
Since 2048, the majorities in favor of amending the Antarctic Treaty have changed. Are we prepared? Do we have a strategy? The biooceanic passage in the Strait of Magellan is becoming increasingly important. We must become the gateway for these new challenges and international actors.
The only weight the UK wields is the “wishes” of the people of the Malvinas Islands. They are based on the referendum of May 11th and 12th 2013, according to which 99.80% of the island’s residents wanted to remain English. It’s wrong.
Firstly, it was just a poll: the term “referendum” is used unlawfully under British law, not under Argentinean position (doctrinal application of the UK Supreme Court ruling of November 23, 2022).
The poll numbers are wrong. According to a population of 2,841 at the 2013 census, 1,513 residents choose to be English, making up 53.26 percent of the island’s residents. Internationally, only 60% of the population’s opinion about their political regime can be considered relevant..
The United Kingdom gives priority to the population of the Falkland Islands. It is also wrong. Today there is a population of 3,793 residents. Of them, only 1,610 have political and economic rights. 58% live in a situation of colonial subjugation. The proportion of the population with rights is decreasing from year to year. The number of settlers is increasing.
In the Malvinas there is a working elite made up of public employees. In 2021 there were more than 761 employees and the number is rising. They consume more than 35% of GDP. Obviously the colonized are not there. It is the first subnational entity with the largest number of public employees in the world.
Argentina immediately grants its entire population equal political, economic, civil and social rights. We must immediately demand the establishment of an Argentine home in the Malvinas Islands.
Each point raised is followed by a strategic proposal. There are many more. Until political society takes over, It is inevitable that the fate of the Malvinas Islands, which will become Argentine again, will come true.
*The author is director of the Malvinas and South Atlantic Center.
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