The Government announced that Argentina “has everything ready to fulfill its offer to carry out two humanitarian charter flights” with Aerolineas Argentinas “for solve the problem of the residents of the Falkland Islands, mostly of Chilean origin, who have been stranded since the beginning of the pandemic“.
“This humanitarian offer, made by the Foreign Ministry within the framework of a recommendation from the Malvinas National Council, includes the British government’s claim that most of the stranded are Chilean citizensTherefore, it was made available for the planes to depart from the Argentine mainland and have as their destination Punta Arenas or another airport in that country, “said Palacio San Martín in a statement.
In this context, he stressed that “the proposal is produced in a context in which the regular flights that connect the Islands with the mainland have not been operational since March 2020 and by virtue of the restrictions on land transit with the sister Republic of Chile for health reasons “.
In the text, he added that “although this suspension exceeds the will of the Argentine authorities, the national government seeks to help overcome the negative consequences produced by the pandemic by enabling that people residing in the Falkland Islands can travel to their cities of origin to attend to personal, health or family matters“.
In addition, he remarked that “it must be borne in mind that until the offer of charter flights by the Argentine Government, there was no request from the United Kingdom government in this regard and that, therefore, their communications have been in response to the offers of the National government”.
“The national government seeks to contribute to overcoming the negative consequences produced by the pandemic by enabling people residing in the Falkland Islands to travel to their cities of origin”
The statement recalled that the Chancellor Santiago Cafiero “has ratified this gesture of goodwill to journalists who participated in a meeting held last Monday, December 21 at the Palacio San Martín.”
He also pointed out that the “Argentine Government has had nothing to do with the situation of aerial disconnection of the islands and that the government authorities of the United Kingdom have attributed to the illegitimate island government the refusal to resume the regular flight Punta Arenas – Río Gallegos – Malvinas “.
“Faced with such an approach, Argentina has made it clear that everything related to regular flights with the islands concerns the governments of the United Kingdom and the Argentine Republic, and that they do not depend on the decision of the illegitimate island government and the company aerial “, underlined the communiqué of the Chancellery.
He also highlighted that the Palacio San Martín stated “repeatedly during 2020 and 2021 the proposal of regular flights with a flag line between the Malvinas Islands and the Argentine mainland, remaining in such a manifest way, the absolute good faith and predisposition of our country “.
At the closing of the press release, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assured that “the circumstances described allow it to be concluded that neither the cause of the isolation suffered by the residents of Malvinas nor any refusal can be attributed to the Argentine Republic, given the gesture of goodwill that our government has expressed and reiterated. “
Argentine sovereignty
The national government’s proposal was made by a recommendation of the National Council for Matters Relating to the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime spaces, created by National Law 27,558 and which was unanimously approved by the National Congress.
The objective of the initiative is to collaborate in the elaboration of the support of the Argentine position in the sovereignty dispute in its geographical, environmental, historical, legal and political aspects.
The Council is made up of National Deputies and Senators from the main political forces with parliamentary representation, specialists in international law, academics, ex-combatants and authorities from the province of Tierra del Fuego.
It is a plural and multi-party body and in this context makes recommendations to the National Executive Power in relation to the Malvinas Question.
