Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Now that is a VICTORY

Turn-out 92 per cent of which 99.8 per cent voted yes, they want to be British. Of course, I am talking about the referendum on the Falkland Islands, the one Argentina dismissed as being irrelevant even before it happened. I wonder who the three people who voted no were. Could they have been asked to do so, in order to avoid the 100 per cent vote, as someone suggested to me? Could they have made a mistake? Could they have thought this was funny or genuinely wanted to be ruled by the dysfunctional Argentinian government? (Yes, I know ours is dysfunctional as well but they do not interfere with the Falklands much.)

Or, perhaps, they are the independence movement.

Meanwhile, I suggest that President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner proclaims that it is those three and none other who represent the workers, peasants and toiling  intelligentsia of the Falkland Islands.

For those who still feel they do not know enough on the subject, here is an admirably succinct summary of the case by a reader of this blog though on another thread:
A quick history lesson and reminder: when Britain took possession of the Falklands, oil was not an economic resource, Argentina did not exist, and there were no other occupiers of the place, no natives, no other imperial power. It was empty land. Many of the Falklanders families have been there for many generations now. Their desire to remain British was expressed in a referendum whose results were announced today: In favour 1513, Against 3. Turnout 92%.
Time to lay this issue to rest.

5 comments:

  1. Somewhat like the Gibraltar referendum when I was a child, there was that tiny number (somewhat similar as a percentage I remember) who voted differently to the 99%. Interestingly we all knew those who voted that way and it caused no little rumpus after the vote including a riot! But as is typical with Gibraltar, everyone was friends again a few years later! And many of those on the 99% side went to the funeral of the unofficial leader of the No camp last year.

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  2. I expect the Falklanders will have a party to which the Three will be invited.

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  3. Why is it that Kirchner reminds me of Joan Collins? I know, it's not very fair on Joanie, who really wears her age quite well.

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  4. It is very unfair on Joan Collins who is a talented and attractive lady with very sensible political views. Take that back immediately. Harrumph!

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  5. Occasionally, I like to argue that the Falklands rightly belong to Uruguay. (On the historical evidence, you can make that case about as strongly as the case that they belong to Argentina). People look at you like you are nuts. It's great.

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