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Falkland Islands: Foreign Office 'Sad' That Argentina Is Being Unfriendly

Falkland Islands

First Posted: 28/02/2012 17:09 Updated: 28/02/2012 17:09

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The British government has said it is "very concerned" that Argentina decided to turn away British tourists wishing to visit the South American country as a result of the ongoing row over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.

Foreign Office minister Jeremy Browne told MPs on Tuesday afternoon that Britain made "frequent representations" to Argentina and other countries in the region to lift the ban on Falkland Islands flagged ships from docking in their ports.

"It is a source of sadness and frustration to us that people who are on holiday and wanting to further relations between ourselves and Argentina on a person to person basis are not being able to do so," he said.

Browne told the House of Commons that the UK approached Argentina "in the spirit of friendship" and it was a "source of sadness" that they did not always do the same.

On Monday two British cruise ships were refused entry to an Argentinian port. The P&0 Cruises' ship Adonia and the Princess Cruises' vessel Star Princess were not allowed to dock at Ushuaia on the southern tip of Argentina.

Both vessels, part of the Carnival company cruise fleet, had called at the Falklands on Saturday.

Browne, who is due to visit the islands as part of the ceremony to mark 20 years since their liberation from Argentine occupation, was responding to questions from Labour shadow foreign minister John Speller, who said move was was "outrageous" and "completely unjustified".

Buenos Aires has reacted angrily in recent weeks to the deployment of an advanced Royal Navy ship to the region, as well as the decision to send Prince William to the islands as a RAF search and rescue pilot.

Following the debate in the Commons, the Foreign Office sent a supportive tweet to a Falkland Islands based Twitter account, informing them that the British government took the issue seriously.


Foreign Office (FCO)
We're very concerned to hear the Adonia and Star Princess have been refused access to the port of Ushuaia.

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The British government has said it is "very concerned" that Argentina decided to turn away British tourists wishing to visit the South American country as a result of the ongoing row over the sovereig...
The British government has said it is "very concerned" that Argentina decided to turn away British tourists wishing to visit the South American country as a result of the ongoing row over the sovereig...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
DIgnified
Bagger to the leftists, liberal to the right.
562 Fans
 
07:14 PM on 03/15/2012
I love this. England claims empire over the Falklands. They offer the island nation "sovereignty" if they wish. Effectively telling them, yeah well go if you want, and leave the 2k-3k of you alone against the world. Hahaha. I doubt Guam or Puerto Rico would want to NOT be US territories. Even though the US effectively does nothing for those areas.
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Caustic Pencil
4 Fans
09:16 PM on 02/29/2012
jmmcmkn has made a good point in his latest comment. See below
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tartanski
1 Fans
08:11 AM on 02/29/2012
Here was that article

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2087834/Falkland-Islands-Cruise-ship-3-500-passengers--Argentinian--turned-away.html
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oobuc5
12 Fans
08:08 AM on 02/29/2012
Couple of things there is an oil and a gas field down the road from the islands ,second thing the British government sold the Argentinians a complete arsenal of weapons prior to the conflict and made millions in the process ,and what about BAE weapons systems ,the governments pet dog for selling weapons to any one in the world who has the money ,and end user certificates not a problem .
Its about the money use an independent and if it goes wrong he,s the one who gets wasted !
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tartanski
1 Fans
07:48 AM on 02/29/2012
As usual not telling the whole story, Don't forget that vessels with Argentinian crew were turned away from Port Stanley recently, and eye for an eye I guess.
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Caustic Pencil
4 Fans
07:27 AM on 02/29/2012
The first step must be to stop British aid to Argentina. That said I believe that Carnival is an American company and it is up to them to make representations to Argentina. I have enjoyed my holidays there but there are lots of other countries without going there. Chile, Peru and Brazil all have more to offer. Perhaps cruise ships could call at Uruguay rather than Buenos Aires. Negotiate NOW is rubbish. Stand firm is the order of the day
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jmmcmkn
214 Fans
12:44 PM on 02/29/2012
Caustic Pencil
Argentina has got there before you and thought it through, this is a Latin American embargo not just an Argentinian one as that would be pointless as you say as shipping from the Falklands could just stop at neighbouring countries to get round it thats why the embargo is pan Latin American so what ever port this shipping tries to put intio in Latin America it will now be turned away. Argentina realises how vunerable Britain is economicly so its launched an economic war against Britain using the Latin American block, the isea is it makes the Falklands to expensive for Britain to maintainas they will now have to be suppied from the other side of the globe. If the Falkland Islanders had any Brains they would start pumping all this oil they are meant to have back to britain to try to prove their worth and get round it. So far they have cost Britain millions per Islander and contributed nothing back. I think the truth is they have no oil as why havent they pumped any in the 30 years since the war or the hundreds of years preceeding? Argentina has turned the Falklands into a millstone round Britains next as is now pushing for a Latin America wide British trade boycot
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Caustic Pencil
4 Fans
06:07 PM on 02/29/2012
I do understand what you are saying. It is a difficult problem. As I understand the situation neither Chile nor Peru are going to support any embargo. Perhaps you know otherwise. I maintain the view that we should cease giving aid to Argentina.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
DIgnified
Bagger to the leftists, liberal to the right.
562 Fans
 
06:57 PM on 03/15/2012
You listen to those Americans when they tell you to "stop handing money to a saber-rattling country..."
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
deluk
disgusted.
692 Fans
07:03 AM on 02/29/2012
:(
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
GingerlyColors
No will to change it, no right to criticize it
72 Fans
05:28 AM on 02/29/2012
I hear that the Argentine government is now urging companies to boycott British goods. Here we can turn round and refuse to by their corned beef and wine. Argentina accounts for only a tiny percentage (maybe less than 1%) of British exports. In return how much does Argentina earn from selling goods here? Argentina will suffer more if there is a trade embargo. As for turning away two cruise ships, how much money did they turn away? All this nonsense is getting our countries nowhere and I believe that Argentina will end up worse off. Negotiate NOW!!!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
wakyracir
My spaniel is watching you
96 Fans
06:24 AM on 02/29/2012
I was with you all the way until the "Negotiate NOW" part. The people living there don't want to have anything to do with Argentina. What's to negotiate?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
GingerlyColors
No will to change it, no right to criticize it
72 Fans
07:45 AM on 02/29/2012
Page 1 of 2. The current crisis has been caused by the discovery of large oil reserves off the Falkland Islands. Normally under International Law a nation has mineral and fishing rights up to 200 miles (320km) from the shoreline (or up to the halfway point between two countries). It is estimated that there are 60bn barrels of oil in the area, enough to keep Britain alone going for 65 years at the current rate of usage of 2.5m barrels a day plus we still have about one-quarter of our North Sea reserves left. In addition enough gas to keep us going for 50 years have been found under Lancashire where I live plus there are likely to be more reserves of shale gas to be found around the country. We won the Falklands War be we do not have the right to rub Argentina's noses in it by declaring that the oil is ours, all ours like a spoilt child hogging all the toys. I believe that even if we shared our reserves it will still give both our nations plenty of time to adopt alternative forms of energy and should buy us time until nuclear fusion becomes a reality. Dictatorships flourish when economies fail so it will be in our interests to allow Argentina access to some of the reserves in order that their economy does not fail. Everything a modern economy does depends on oil.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
GingerlyColors
No will to change it, no right to criticize it
72 Fans
07:57 AM on 02/29/2012
Page 2 of 2. How much does 3000 people living on the Islands need in the way of fishing grounds? Okay, the rest of Britain probably needs those fish stocks as well, especially as being the 'yes men' of Europe we have let the EU force us to hand our fishing grounds over to other countries because they have over-fished theirs. Maybe it is time to defend the interests of islanders closer to home and take these fishing grounds back.
I do not deny that the Falkland Islands are ours and will remain so as long as the people there wish it but what about South Georgia and the British Antarctic territorial claim? The Argentine claim sits wholy inside the British claim and the Chilian claim overlaps both our claims. I say that we should renegotiate our territorial claims to the Antarctic. Both our countries (and no doubt Chile) are signed up to the Antarctic Treaty on wildlife protection and no one lives there apart from penguins and seals who are probably not bothered who governs them. As far as I am concerned our government is not doing anything to resolve the situation and is insisting on going ahead with things like Prince William's deployment there to further antagonise it.
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trailerguy
161 Fans
02:40 AM on 02/29/2012
What does Sean think
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GearoidOD
66 Fans
11:17 PM on 02/28/2012
Take up the White Man's burden--
Send forth the best ye breed--
Go, bind your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need;
To wait, in heavy harness,
On fluttered folk and wild--
Your new-caught sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child.

Take up the White Man's burden--
In patience to abide,
To veil the threat of terror
And check the show of pride;
By open speech and simple,
An hundred times made plain,
To seek another's profit
And work another's gain.

Take up the White Man's burden--
The savage wars of peace--
Fill full the mouth of Famine,
And bid the sickness cease;
And when your goal is nearest
(The end for others sought)
Watch sloth and heathen folly
Bring all your hope to nought.

Take up the White Man's burden--
No iron rule of kings,
But toil of serf and sweeper--
The tale of common things.
The ports ye shall not enter,
The roads ye shall not tread,
Go, make them with your living
And mark them with your dead.

Take up the White Man's burden,
And reap his old reward--
The blame of those ye better
The hate of those ye guard--
The cry of hosts ye humour
(Ah, slowly!) toward the light:--
"Why brought ye us from bondage,
Our loved Egyptian night?"

Take up the White Man's burden--
Ye dare not stoop to less--
.
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geoff ward
19 Fans
03:43 AM on 02/29/2012
Anything else ?
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yormerlin
37 Fans
10:06 PM on 02/28/2012
Thirty Years Huffington....Where you get twenty from is beyond me.
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yormerlin
37 Fans
10:02 PM on 02/28/2012
30 Years Huffington.....30 Thirty,,,,, three times ten = Thirty Huffington....Yes Thirty years.
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alex salmond
3 Fans
09:58 PM on 02/28/2012
Foreign Office 'Sad' That Argentina Is Being Unfriendly

the uk goverment is being very unfriendly here at home and i find that SAD
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yormerlin
37 Fans
10:05 PM on 02/28/2012
Yay the Weee King,,,,,hahahahahaaa
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