To the British, they鈥檙e the Falkland Islands. To the Argentinians, however, they鈥檙e Las Malvinas.
But those differing names for a group of islands in the cold southern waters of the Atlantic Ocean east of Argentina signify not merely a disagreement over what they should be called, but rather who had the right to rule them.
Although Britain declared the islands a British colony in 1832, Argentina has never accepted British rule there and the dispute over their possession remains a controversial and festering issue even today. In April 1982, it led to a bloody war between Britain and Argentina when the increasingly unpopular and brutal military junta ruling Argentina invaded the disputed islands.
Despite the military鈥檚 expectation that the British government would somehow accept the Argentine action as a fait accompli, they underestimated the reaction of then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who saw the occupation of the Falklands as a move Britain could not meekly accept. It also provided an opportunity to demonstrate her own leadership to the British public and her own party.
Accordingly, to the surprise of the Argentine military, Britain dispatched a naval task force of 30 warships and supporting aircraft that ultimately forced the Argentine units to surrender, but not before more than 1,000 British and Argentine military personnel and civilians died.
To this day, both Britain and Argentina claim they have the historical rights to the disputed islands. Of the approximately 100 islands, only two are of any significant size and inhabited with fixed populations 鈥� now English-speaking, though once also reportedly inhabited by Spanish-speaking populations.
Year after year, Argentine governments have raised the issue at the United Nations, citing the British control over the disputed islands as an unjustified occupation of territory historically given to Argentina by Spain following that former colonial power鈥檚 forced withdrawal from lands once occupied in Latin America.
Governments of Argentina have described Britain鈥檚 refusal to return the islands to Argentina as an example of Britain鈥檚 continued flouting of UN decolonization resolutions, the most recent in June calling upon Britain and Argentina to negotiate the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) question.
The issue over Britain鈥檚 control of the Falkland Islands took an unexpected turn in recent days when the legislature in Gibraltar began constructing an artificial concrete reef that Madrid maintains is intended to block the passage of Spanish fishing boats. However, the dispute quickly escalated into yet another dispute over Britain鈥檚 control over Gibraltar, which was ceded to Britain in the Treaty of Utrecht 300 years ago.
Spanish governments have never accepted Britain鈥檚 rights over Gibraltar, though the British government has continued to maintain that the people of Gibraltar have no wish to have it returned to Spanish jurisdiction.
鈥淪elf-determination is far more significant than territorial integrity,鈥� a British spokesman in London said. 鈥淭he people of Gibraltar have repeatedly expressed and overwhelmingly their wish to remain under British sovereignty.鈥�
To add further drama, Spain and Argentina have indicated they could co-operate at the UN concerning their mutual disputes with Britain while Argentina chairs the Security Council this month.
Argentine President Christina Fernandez, in fact, made a point of chairing a meeting of the Security Council on Aug. 7, bluntly criticizing Britain, saying: 鈥淲e call on the U.K. to respect UN Resolution 2065, which calls on the British to sit and discuss the Malvinas sovereignty.鈥�
Fernandez insisted that if a new resolution comes forward on issues like the Malvinas (or possibly Gibraltar), all members of the UN have to comply with it.
Such a resolution on the Malvinas or Gibraltar disputes could come up for a vote at any time while Argentina chairs the UN Security Council.
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Harry Sterling, a former diplomat, is an Ottawa-based commentator.
