Dispute Over Falklands Intensifies By RICK GLADSTONE Published: June 20, 2013 The protracted dispute between Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands appeared to harden further on Thursday, as the British side dismissed any thought of inviting the new Argentine pope to help mediate, and the Argentines rejected a March referendum that showed the islanders want to remain British. Both sides made their positions known after an annual meeting of the United Nations Decolonization Committee, which called on Britain and Argentina to negotiate. Britain has said any negotiations must include a representative from the Falklands, a condition rejected by Argentina, which calls the islands, in the South Atlantic, Las Malvinas. More than 30 years after the Argentines invaded the islands and British forces retook them, the emotions of the dispute appear to be reinvigorated. They were stoked this year when Argentina’s president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, sought to enlist Pope Francis, the former archbishop of Buenos Aires, to advance the cause. But the idea of papal intervention did not sit well with Michael Summers, a Falklands representative who attended the Decolonization Committee’s meeting. “I think the last thing we need is religion inserted into this dispute,” he said at a news conference. At a separate news conference, Argentina’s foreign minister, Héctor Timerman, rejected Britain’s contention that Argentina has no claim to the islands. Mr. Timerman also ridiculed the British insistence on including an island representative in any talks. “I need to meet with the foreign minister,” he said. “Kings meet with kings, and queens meet with queens. Usually that is the way it works.”
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 04:12:53 +0000
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