Falklands : Islanders Querry - Who's Ahead after 10 Years of the Agreement?
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 15.07.2009 (Article Archived on 29.07.2009)
It has been 10 years since the July 14th Agreement with Argentina that allowed LAN flights to continue flying to the Falklands.
Photo (C) J. Brock (FINN) The strength of feeling about an agreement with Argentina in 1 999 was evident with two demonstrations. One was held on 11 July and the other when the first group of Argentines left at the end of August. In this photo Glenda and Ben Watson show their displeasure about the Agreement.
ISLANDERS QUERRY – WHO’S AHEAD AFTER 10 YEARS OF THE AGREEMENT?
An Editorial by J. Brock (FINN)
The strength of feeling about an agreement with Argentina in 1 999 was evident with two demonstrations. One was held on 11 July and the other when the first group of Argentines left at the end of August. In this photo Glenda and Ben Watson show their displeasure about the Agreement.
Photo (c) J. Brock (FINN)
It has been 10 years since the July 14th Agreement with Argentina that allowed LAN flights to continue flying to the Falklands.
The agreement not only covered flights but also fisheries, typography, next of kin visits and passport control.
Ten years later there has been little to no work on typography – this was the first to go. There has been no recent news about the South West Atlantic Fisheries Commission but Argentines still can enter the Falklands to visit on Argentine passports and the once weekly flight is still operational.
However, there are no more charter flights and what equates to economic terrorism by Argentina reigns supreme with harassment of licensed fishing vessels in 2004, refusal for Royal Naval visits to Punta Arenas and continuing refusal for charter flights.
On the other hand, the world was in recession ten years ago and the Falklands have prospered regardless of another recession and the continued economic harassment from Argentina.
The Falklands are looking forward to a hydrocarbons industry and will, all going well, have a new deep water port by 2012.
Argentina doesn’t have our best interests at hart when they economically harass us and we could rightly accuse them of bullying. However there are ways to deal with bullies. Me – I’d rather be the head of a rabbit than the tail of a lion any day.
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