The Falkland Islands are to remain British, following an almost unanimous vote among the islanders.
In a referendum held in March, only three of the 1,518 votes cast were against remaining as part of the UK.
The referendum followed attempts by Argentine President, Cristina Kirchner, to reiterate a claim of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
The 30th anniversary of the Falkland War in 2012 and the 180th anniversary of the year that the United Kingdom asserted its rule over the islands (2013) prompted Kirchner to raise the issue.
In a letter to the British Prime Minister David Cameron, which was also published in UK newspapers, Kirchner asked him to respect the UN’s resolution of 1965. This classed the Falkland Islands as a colonial case and meant that its future sovereignty should be resolved between the two countries.
David Cameron’s response was to refer the question of the islands’ future to the islanders themselves.
Following the referendum, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, William Hague, said: “The Falkland Islanders voted overwhelmingly to maintain their current constitutional arrangements with the United Kingdom.
“The result is a clear democratic expression of the Islanders’ wishes and was conducted in a free, fair and transparent way.” But the result was rejected as a meaningless ‘parody’ by Kirchner.
