Falkland Islanders referendum on remaining a British Overseas territory

[Boggit]

The Falkland Islanders get the chance to publicly state whether they wish to remain a British Overseas Territory, or not.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/falklandislands/9917947/The-fate-of-the-Falklands-is-in-the-islanders-hands.html

If they vote to remain a B. O. T. then hopefully the Argentines will respect this. If Argentina doesn't accept this, then their neighbours within 300 miles or so had better watch out if the Argentinians think that non-Argentine populations who don't want to be assimilated into the Imperial fantasy of a Greater Argentina should have this imposed upon them because of a territorial claim based on proximity and a tenuous historical link.

If the Falklanders don't vote for this, then the question arises whether they wish to be independent or to negotiate accession to Argentina. Of course, economic harrassment and bullying by Argentina isn't conducive to a no vote http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18361961 , and you would have thought that the Argentinian government would have been at pains to show the benefits of joining Argentina in a positive light. See also http://www.economist.com/node/21542183 (I wonder what the Argentinians would make of a reciprocal British interference of their maritime trade and commerce in the same way that Argentina does with the Falkland Islands economy?). If the Falklanders wish to be independent either of Great Britain and Argentina, then their wishes should be respected by both Britain and Argentina. I would hope that Britain, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and the US would all then guarantee the Falklanders sovereignty.

Doing a little research I found the following notes on Yahoo Answers, all endorsed by wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkland_Islands_sovereignty_dispute which debunk further Argentina's myth about territorial sovereignty. I include it as a quick synopsis:

"The Falklands has been British since 1690. But in the 1820's, Britain gave an Argentinian called Luis Vernet permission to build a settlement there. For some reason the Argentinians assumed that they had gained sovereignty over the islands. The truth of the matter is that the Falklands has never been recognised as Argentinian territory.

1766 John Byron re-secured The Falkland Islands as British.
1770 Britain and Spain almost went to war over The Falklands... A Spanish flotilla arrives at the islands asking the British to leave. When first asked to leave, the British officer in charge of the garrison, a Captain Hunt, replied:

``I have received your letters by the officer, acquainting me that these islands and coasts thereof belong to the King of Spain, your Master. In return I am to acquaint you that the said islands belong to his Brittanic Majesty, My Master, by right of discovery as well as settlement and that the subjects of no other power whatever can have any right to be settled in the said islands without leave from His Brittanic Majesty or taking oaths of allegiance and submitting themselves to His Majesty's Government as subjects of the Crown of Great Britain.''
1771 Spain AGREES to cede The Falklands to Britain.
1833 Britain again reaffirms sovereignty over The Islands. The same year they abolished slavery and started to force the rest of the world to do likewise.

The English explorer, John Davis, commander of the Desire, one of the ships belonging to Thomas Cavendish's second expedition to the New World, is recorded as having visited the islands in 1592. He was separated from Cavendish off the coast of what is now southern Argentina by a severe storm and discovered the islands. For a while the islands were known as "Davis Land". In 1594, the English commander Richard Hawkins, visited the islands. Combining his own name with that of Queen Elizabeth I, the "Virgin Queen", he gave the islands the name of "Hawkins' Maidenland."

[Boggit]

99.98% in favour of remaining a British Overseas Territory!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/falklandislands/9923871/Falklands-referendum-vote-result-announced.html

[bob48]

The 0.02% who were not in favour, when interviewed and asked why, unanimously replied 'Baaaaaa'

[LongBlade]

The 0.02% who were not in favour, when interviewed and asked why, unanimously replied 'Baaaaaa'

LOL!!!!!

[Staggerwing]

Even the Argie AWOLs still living in Farmer Campbell's barn voted to stay BOT.

[bob48]

I remember watching the poor bastards being repatriated. They recieved better treatment off our lads than they did from thier own side. Most of 'em were conscripts and had not a frakkin' clue what was going on.

[undercovergeek]

The 0.02% who were not in favour, when interviewed and asked why, unanimously replied 'Baaaaaa'

Thatll be the welsh contingent

[LongBlade]

The 0.02% who were not in favour, when interviewed and asked why, unanimously replied 'Baaaaaa'

Thatll be the welsh contingent

...and it starts.

[GDS_Starfury]

Windy already has a avatar.


and the passion.

[Windigo]

If you look at what the Argentine Pres has said

Argentina maintained that the vote was illegal and "pointless", and that islanders - an "implanted people" - have no voice in a dispute that must be settled bilaterally.


so a european settled nation is bitching about an implanted people .... oh the hypocracy

[bayonetbrant]

oh the hypocracy

government by medical needles?!

[Windigo]

oh the hypocracy

government by medical needles?!

my baaaaaaaaaad

[mirth]

Honestly I don't know what Argentine leaders would do if they didn't have they Falklands to fall back on whenever their popularity at home was in the crapper (which is usually always).

[bob48]

Really, I think we should be charging them a fee since we are providing them with a reason with which to distract their populance from the real problems, although, come to think about it, the buggers couldn't afford to pay it anyway.

[LongBlade]

Looks like the Argentines get the next Pope.