Falklanders Vote Overwhelmingly to Remain British

         
           The residents of the British territory of the Falkland Islands have voted overwhelmingly to remain a territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.  The vote was nearly unanimous and turnout was high.

           The referendum came amid a flare-up in the long-running dispute between the U.K. and Argentina, which claims the islands off the South American coast and other British-held islands off of Antarctica.  The two fought the Falklands War in 1982 after the Argentine dictatorship invaded the islands, prompting a British liberation under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, a Conservative.  The inhabitants of the islands are mostly British.  The Argentine government has demanded negotiations on the status of the territory, but the U.K. considers the matter resolved, citing the results of the referendum as determinate.  The Falklands have been under British control since 1833.

           The Anglo-Argentine dispute over the Falklands has flared because of the fiscal and economic crisis facing Argentina and its leftist government, which was allied with Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez.  Argentina's socialist policies have caused severe inflation amid concerns about its ability to repay its debt.   I had posted about the flare-up in February of last year, in advance of the 30th anniversary of the war, in Foreign Digest: Cambodia, Haiti, Falkland Islands, Irand and Syria, http://williamcinfici.blogspot.com/2012/02/foreign-digest-cambodia-haiti-falkland.html.

           I renew my call for the Argentine government to tone down its rhetoric.  I also urge it to resolve its fiscal crisis and fulfill its financial obligations.