Argentinean Sour Grapes

[CogitoErgoSometimes]

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After a 90%+ democratic vote from the islanders to remain British, the result is dismissed by the Argentineans as 'not relevant' because they claim the territory and regard the people merely as an inconvenience. Presumably therefore, had they been successful in the 1982 conflict, they'd have ethnically cleansed the British-origin population - either shipping them out or adding them to 'The Disappeared' - and replaced them with Argentine nationals. Grim thought

very grim. I was born in the Falklands and the Argies can just shove it...we are and want to be British!!!

How can you assume that they would have ethnically cleansed the place?

Unfortunately a lot of Argentineans genuinely cannot see a problem with their claim on the islands. It is taught as a fact in schools that the islands were stolen from them.

It's not so illogical an assumption. Argentina claims the territory as part of its constitution and the people residing there are 'irrelevant'.... as the reaction to the referendum illustrates. History is littered with examples of inconvenient populations being moved on and/or replaced by nationals from occupying powers. That's probably how British people got on the Falklands in the first place, of course. :) Argentinean history is littered with dissenters simply disappearing off the face of the earth so 2000 awkward little islanders wouldn't present too big a challenge.

does anyone else kniw what the un thinks of this?

does the peoples wishes not count,

To be accurate, isnt it the period of the dictatorship in the 1970s rather than all argetinian history? I dint think its useful to make sweeping statements against people.

What i'd really likw to see is some accounts from bith sides of that period between argentina being given the islands frim spain in 1765 or thereabouts, and us getting them in 1833 or whenever. I just havent looked at that and this has raised my interest.

I dont see the point in turfing them off, fwiw. But its oil, isnt it?

Apols for typing, btw, am on phone and loathe autocorrect.

It's silly really, I mean how on earth does anyone decide who they 'belong' to?

They don't belong to anyone, I suppose it's abput who gets to govern and that needs to be a democratic decision though with the govt we have atm I'm not sure I'd want to be ruled by GB.

Argentina didn't exist as a country until 1810 so couldn't have been "given" The Falklands by Spain in 1765.

There is no indigenous population in The Falklands, unlike the native people wiped out in Argentina by the Spanish.

RooneyMara
It's silly really, I mean how on earth does anyone decide who they 'belong' to?

Property rights - the ownership of land - are the basis of civilisation. They're how we stop people fighting the whole time. There are laws drawn up that lay out the process by which ownership is determined.

They don't belong to anyone, I suppose it's abput who gets to govern and that needs to be a democratic decision though with the govt we have atm I'm not sure I'd want to be ruled by GB.

A comment presumably based on your near-total ignorance of Argentina and its system of governance.

Yes.

Sorry for talking unhelpful shit. I was just thinking aloud.

To be fair, I talk a lot of unhelpful shit on here Rooney, as does everyone other user. I think the serious, intellectual occasionallyboring genuinely in the know people who get offended by us numnuts would probably be best off sticking to more highbrow websites like the Times or the Guardian or something

Sorry, I just get tetchy when people go 'HURR this government is so terrible, I'm moving to Angola because it's the same as capping benefits at £26k' or some such nonsense.

Argentina isn't doing well. Lots of news stories about how bad their economy is, and how Kirchner is propping up her power by jingoistic bellowing about the Falklands. Luckily for us their navy is almost as bejiggered as ours is.

*Argentina didn't exist as a country until 1810 so couldn't have been "given" The Falklands by Spain in 1765.

There is no indigenous population in The Falklands, unlike the native people wiped out in Argentina by the Spanish.*

Well quite. Perhaps Argentina could set us an example by returning the country they invaded (when they were called Spanish) to its original inhabitants - those that they left alive of course.

Oh God no I didn't mean it like that - I am sure everywhere has a shit government in some respects. It just occurred to me that they have a choice of who is in charge of them and how interesting that would be.

Argentina sounds pretty screwed - sorry for those who have family or such, that are affected.

x posts there. and thankyou MsR

I think it was a smart move to get international election observers out there - harder for diplomats and politicians to ignore the election results when they have been signed off as fair and above board by independent monitors from a variety of countries.

Kirchner will probably keep up the ill-founded jingoistic rants to try to distract Argentinians from domestic problems. But maybe the elections will dissuade other countries from supporting Argentina's colonial ambitions.

Fernandez is now referring to the islanders as 'squatters'. article. Anyone still in doubt what the islanders' fate would be if she was running the place...?