Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero rejected this Friday the announcement by the United Kingdom to grant the rank of city to Puerto Argentino, capital of the Malvinas Islands, and considered that the measure “exposes the colonial nature of the illegal and illegitimate” occupation that the British exercise over the archipelago.
“The British crown’s announcement about Puerto Argentino exposes the colonial nature of the illegal and illegitimate occupation of our Malvinas Islands,” Cafiero said through his Twitter account.
Then he continued: “To be clear: the territory was usurped from Argentina 189 years ago by a military invasion.”
Along the same lines, he questioned that “the decision has no effect but confirms that the United Kingdom does not respect international law.”
“It is Argentine territory,” he added.
“We will continue to act peacefully and diplomatically in defense of our sovereignty,” the publication concluded, adding the hashtag #MalvinasNosUne.
The British crown’s announcement regarding Puerto Argentino reveals, once again, the colonial nature of the illegal and illegitimate British occupation of #falklands
– Guillermo Carmona (@grcarmonac) May 20, 2022
For its part, the Secretary of Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic Guillermo Carmona He also expressed himself through the social network: “The announcement of the British crown regarding Puerto Argentino reveals, once again, the colonial nature of the illegal and illegitimate British occupation of #Malvinas”.
The official added that “the whole scene is anachronistic and expresses an outdated imperialist claim.”
“The decision has no international effect, although it confirms that the United Kingdom does not respect international law by maintaining a colonial regime in part of Argentine territory,” he said.
He also recalled that “British reluctance to resume negotiations with Argentina on the issue of sovereignty is central.”
“The decision of the British monarch does not change the situation at all: Puerto Argentino will continue to be Argentine despite these royal grants out of time,” he concluded.
The announcement of the British crown on Puerto Argentino exposes the colonial nature of the illegal and illegitimate occupation of our Malvinas Islands.
To be clear: the territory was usurped from Argentina 189 years ago by a military invasion.
– Santiago Cafiero (@SantiagoCafiero) May 20, 2022
The United Kingdom granted this Friday the rank of city to eight towns, including Puerto Argentino, capital of the Malvinas Islands, within the framework of the celebration of the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, for her 70 years on the throne, and The Argentine government questioned the measure by stating that it has “a colonial character” typical of the occupation that the United Kingdom exercises over the archipelago.
Milton Keynes in England, Dunfermline in Scotland, Bangor in Northern Ireland and Wrexham in Wales also claimed the title; and Colchester and Doncaster in England round out the list getting royal mention.
Honorary competition in the UK was last held ten years ago to mark the monarch’s Diamond Jubilee, and this year, for the first time in history, applications for city status were open to a overseas territory such as Puerto Argentino and a crown dependency such as Douglas, on the Isle of Man, as officially reported today.
Argentina maintains a dispute with the United Kingdom over the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands, a claim that has a constitutional character and that was recognized by the General Assembly of the United Nations, which ratifies every year the exhortation to both countries to start negotiations to find a peaceful and definitive solution to the dispute.
Decolonization Committee
Carmona, carried out a mission to the United Nations headquarters in New York between Thursday and Friday, in order to hold a series of preparatory work meetings in view of the next annual session of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization (C-24) , according to the Foreign Ministry.
Carmona and the permanent representative of Argentina to the UN, María del Carmen Squeff, held “a series of working meetings with United Nations authorities and permanent missions of other member states in order to consolidate support and prepare for the next Committee session June 23”, which will be attended by a national delegation headed by Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero, the Palacio San Martín said in a statement.
The official was also received by Abdulla Shahid, president of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, with whom he discussed the central role of the General Assembly in decolonization processes, including the special and particular case of the Malvinas Islands. .
On the other hand, the secretary held a meeting yesterday with the president of the Decolonization Committee, Keisha McGuire, in which they spoke about the next session of the Committee that will deal, as every year, with the question of the Malvinas Islands.
In that session, a resolution will be adopted by consensus that reiterates the call to the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom to resume negotiations in order to find a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute as soon as possible, in accordance with what is established in the resolutions of the General Assembly.
The secretary also met with the representatives of the Latin American member states of the C-24 in order to consolidate the traditional support of said delegations during the treatment of the Malvinas issue in the session on June 23.
The agenda of meetings today included a meeting with the charge d’affaires of the Republic of Mauritius at the UN, Joyker Nayeck, in which they addressed the particularities of the cases of decolonization of the Malvinas Islands and the Chagos archipelago.
The diplomats “exchanged opinions and points of view regarding the importance of respecting international law and the provisions of the United Nations General Assembly resolutions 2065 and 2066, which call on the Government of the United Kingdom to put an end to both colonial situations” .
The Special Committee on Decolonization will hold its annual session at the United Nations headquarters in New York, from June 13 to 24, and will deal with the issue of the Malvinas Islands at its meeting on June 23.
