The secretary of the Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic, Guillermo Carmona, described as “regrettable” the Christmas greeting of the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to the inhabitants of the Malvinas Islands and assured that he used the occasion to “reaffirm the British colonial policy and to try to misrepresent reality”.
“It is unfortunate that the Prime Minister uses the occasion of a Christmas greeting to reaffirm the British colonial policy in relation to the Malvinas against international law and to try to misrepresent the national reality”said Carmona in the last hours through his Twitter account.
In this context, he added: “The claim of the British PM of a supposed right of self-determination for those who inhabit our islands from and thanks to the violation of Argentine territorial integrity, with the addition of being British subjects, is contrary to international law. “.
Carmona’s response came after Sunak sent a Christmas message dedicated to the inhabitants of the islands, in which he stated that he celebrates that “40 years ago the flag of the United Kingdom was raised again at the Government House in Port Stanley” and reaffirmed his “continued commitment to his self-determination.”
“We trust that 2023 will be a year in which, under the auspices of the international community, the United Kingdom and Argentina take effective steps to end this colonial situation and to give rise to the restoration of Argentine territorial integrity. The Malvinas are Argentine”Guillermo Carmona
In his reply, Carmona recalled that Next January 3 marks the 190th anniversary of the English invasion of the Malvinas in 1833.
“At that time, the Argentine authorities and residents were violently evicted by military force, giving rise to the introduction of British subjects,” he said.
For this reason, described as a “fallacy” the statement made by the British Prime Minister where he indicated that “people of more than 60 nationalities live”.
“It has been evidenced in the recent decision of the British government to limit the vote on the islands to those who have island status, which implies a restriction on citizen participation to anyone who is not British, in an essentially colonial regime that they are trying to give a democratic façade,” he said.
The Malvinas secretary added that this is added to “an absolutely restrictive and discriminatory immigration policy towards Argentines.”
In his statements, he also stressed that The Argentine Republic recognizes the inhabitants of Malvinas “the civil, social and economic rights that correspond to all the inhabitants of our country”as well as “citizenship with the corresponding political rights to those born there”.
Likewise, Carmona indicated that Sunak speaks of the fauna and Flora of the islands that the United Kingdom “loots with illegal fishing and hydrocarbon exploration activities, violating Argentine legislation and international law, generating a high risk and environmental impact.”
Finally, Carmona assured that the desire for “peace and prosperity” for all the inhabitants of Argentine soil during these holidays is accompanied by “a call to the British government to contribute to peace and harmony in the world, resuming negotiations on the issue of the sovereignty of Malvinas”,
“We trust that 2023 will be a year in which, under the auspices of the international community, the United Kingdom and Argentina take effective steps to end this colonial situation and to give rise to the restoration of Argentine territorial integrity. The Malvinas are Argentine,” he concluded. .
