Wednesday, December 21, 2011

'Nuclear submarine should be sent to protect Malvinas,' says Former British Sea Lord

A former British First Sea Lord (2002-2006) and Commander during the Malvinas War today stated that Britain should respond to the Mercosur bloc’s decision to close their ports to ships that fly the Malvinas flag, by sending a nuclear submarine to protect the islands, the Telegraph newspaper reported today.

Lord Alan William West, who fought in the Malvinas war as a Commander on the HMS Ardent ship that sunk on May 21, 1982 today made harsh comments toward Argentina and the Mercosur bloc for their decision to disallow boats and ships flying the Malvinas flag to dock at their ports.

The reaction from the former head of the Royal Navy comes at a sensitive time between Britain and Argentina, as sovereignty issues over the islands has been at the forefront of political discussions for months now.

Earlier today, the British Foreign Office (BFO) issued a statement that said: "We are very concerned by this latest Argentine attempt to isolate the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands people and damage their livelihoods, for which there is no justification."

The attempt that the Foreign Office was referring to was the action taken by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner at the Mercosur Summit yesterday in Montevideo, where she gathered support of Argentina's neighbouring countries, to not allow ships flying the Malvinas flag to stop in their ports.

Britain Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne stated today that, "It is not yet clear what the practical impact of the Mercosur statement might be as it reflects similar language used in the region previously. Some countries take a different view from us on our sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. It is for the people of the Falkland Islands to determine their future."

Browne further stated, "It is unacceptable to engage in an economic blockade of the Falklands. Mercosur should take the responsible decision and not do this. There can be no justification – legal, moral or political – for efforts to intimidate the people of the Falkland Islands."

Furthering the action taken last week upon Uruguay President Mujica's action to support Argentina's sovereignty, when the British Ambassador to Uruguay held urgent talks over the situation, Browne today stated that all British Ambassadors now take on this issue as a matter of urgency."

The British Minister furthered that the British Government were dedicated to making sure the islanders "maintained their right to decide their own future, " and "that we will then consider our next steps in light of information we receive" regarding the matter.