10 Feb 2012

UN / ARGENTINA FALKLAND ISLANDS (MALVINAS) WRAP

Argentina’s foreign minister Héctor Marcos Timerman and the United Kingdom’s (UK) Ambassador to the UN Mark Lyall Grant held consecutive press conferences at headquarters today (10 Feb) to discuss Argentina’s submission of a formal complaint regarding the UK’s militarisation of the South Atlantic. UNTV

Posted at: February 10, 2012 7:38 pm

Duration: 04:12

Available in: SD

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STORY: UN / ARGENTINA FALKLANDS ISLANDS (MALVINAS) WRAP
TRT:  4.12
SOURCE:  UNTV 
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / SPANISH / NATS

DATELINE: 10 FEBRUARY 2012, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

10 FEBRUARY 2012, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, dais and video screen
3. Close up, video screen
4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Héctor Marcos Timerman, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Argentina:
"What you won't see here is the capital of this military power. The capital of this military power is 14,000 kilometres away from the area in conflict, from the Malvinas Islands. 14,000 kilometres away. From there it exercises control. The South Atlantic remains perhaps as the last vestige of an empire in decadence. It is the last ocean controlled from Great Britain."
5. Med shot, journalists 
6. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Héctor Marcos Timerman, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Argentina:
"Our region is a nuclear-weapons-free zone. We are not going to accept nuclear armament in Latin America's area of influence. Unfortunately, Great Britain is a signatory to the Treaty of Tlatelolco, but it has always expressed objections, therefore it does not uphold all the mandates of the Treaty of Tlatelolco. "
7. Med shot, journalists 
8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Héctor Marcos Timerman, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Argentina:
"They have called us colonialists. They have called Argentina colonialist. Anyone who knows history, even if you don't cover Argentina regularly, but you must know history. To call Argentina colonialist is an offense to England, not to Argentina, because if there is a country that prides itself of a colonialist past, that country is England."
9. Med shot, journalists 
10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Héctor Marcos Timerman, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina:
"The Secretary-General supports dialogue, the General Assembly supports dialogue; the President of the Security Council supports dialogue. Well, we are just missing Great Britain. Thank you. Thank you very much."
11. Med shot, end of press conference
12. Med shot, Timerman meeting with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
13. Med shot, dais
14. Med shot, journalists 
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Lyall Grant, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations:
"The Falkland Islands have its own Constitution and the United Kingdom has no intention of imposing any change in the sovereignty status against the wishes of the people of the Falkland Islands. It is unfortunate that Argentina changed its Constitution in the 1990s to make it incumbent upon the Argentinean Government to obtain sovereignty over the Falklands."
16. Med shot, journalists 
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Lyall Grant, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations:
"On the nuclear issue nothing has changed in the British defence posture around the Falkland Islands. Clearly that defence posture, as I said, increased significantly after Argentina illegally invaded in 1982, ignored the Security Council resolution for them to withdraw and they had to be militarily defeated to persuade them to leave the islands. Obviously since then, for the safety and security and well being of the population of the Falkland Islands, we had to increase our defence posture."
18. Med shot, journalists 
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations:
"It may not be a coincidence that this new bout of rhetoric has come about after there was some suggestion that there may be oil and gas reserves in the Falkland Islands waters. But as far as we are concerned the Falkland Islanders have every right to exploit their economic resources in their own waters and if they do exploit these resources it'll be for the benefit of the population of the Falklands, not for the benefit of the United Kingdom."
20. Wide shot, dais

STORYLINE:

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina, Héctor Marcos Timerman, and Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant of the United Kingdom held consecutive press conferences today (10 Feb) to discuss Argentine President Cristina Fernández's announcement earlier this week that Argentina would file a formal complaint at the United Nations (UN) regarding the United Kingdom's militarisation of the South Atlantic and the issue of the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).

Timerman showed reporters a map of the South Atlantic indicating British military presence in the area and pointed out that "the capital of this military power is 14,000 kilometres away from the area in conflict."

He added that the South Atlantic "remains perhaps as the last vestige of an empire in decadence. It is the last ocean controlled from Great Britain."

The Foreign Minister noted that Latin America is a nuclear-weapons-free zone and stated that Argentina is not going to accept nuclear armament in Latin American's area of influence.

He expressed regret that Great Britain, although a signatory to the Treaty of Tlatelolco, "does not uphold all the mandates" of that agreement, which prohibits the testing, use, manufacture, production or acquisition of nuclear weapons.

Timerman commented on UK Prime Minister David Cameron's claims that Argentina has "colonialist" aims in the islands. He said that "to call Argentina colonialist is an offense to England, not to Argentina, because if there is a country that prides itself of a colonialist past, that country is England."

Before ending the press conference, Timerman said that "the Secretary-General supports dialogue, the General Assembly supports dialogue; the President of the Security Council supports dialogue. Well, we are just missing Great Britain."

Earlier in the day, Timerman met with Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon, who voiced hope that Argentina and the United Kingdom can avoid escalating their dispute over the islands and resolve their differences through dialogue.

Ban expressed concern about the increasingly strong exchanges between Buenos Aires and London on the issue, according to information released by a spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

During his press conference, Lyall Grant told journalists that the islands have their own constitution and said that "the United Kingdom has no intention of imposing any change in the sovereignty status against the wishes of the people of the Falkland Islands."

He said it was "unfortunate" that Argentina changed its own constitution in the 1990s "to make it incumbent upon the Argentinean Government to obtain sovereignty over the Falklands."

Argentina has alleged that the special nature of the question of the Malvinas Islands derived from the fact that the United Kingdom had occupied the islands by force in 1833 and ousted the Argentine population and authorities there, replacing them with settlers of British origin.

On the nuclear issue, Lyall Grant alleged that "nothing has changed in the British defence posture around the Falkland Islands" but said that it had "increased significantly after Argentina illegally invaded in 1982."

He added that since that time "for the safety and security and well being of the population of the Falkland Islands we had to increase our defence posture."

The British ambassador speculated that "it may not be a coincidence that this new bout of rhetoric has come about after there was some suggestion that there may be oil and gas reserves in the Falkland Islands waters."

He stressed that "Falkland Islanders have every right to exploit their economic resources in their own waters and if they do exploit these resources it'll be for the benefit of the population of the Falklands, not for the benefit of the United Kingdom."

The United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, a 24-member panel that discusses the developments in the 16 remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories, has repeatedly requested the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom to resume negotiations to find a peaceful solution to the long-standing sovereignty dispute.