Falkland To Vote On Overseas Territory Status

February 13, 2013

Next month Falkland Islanders will vote in a referendum on whether they wish to retain their status as a British Overseas Territory. The 4,700 sq mile archipelago, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, is home to just under 3,000 people.

The Falkland Islands Government has released the final wording of the question that will be voted on, which follows below:

The current political status of the Falkland Islands is that they are an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom. The Islands are internally self-governing, with the United Kingdom being responsible for matters including defence and foreign affairs.

Under the Falkland Islands Constitution the people of the Falkland Islands have the right to self-determination, which they can exercise at any time. Given that Argentina is calling for negotiations over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, this referendum is being undertaken to consult the people regarding their views on the political status of the Falkland Islands.

Should the majority of votes cast be against the current status, the Falkland Islands Government will undertake necessary consultation and preparatory work in order to conduct a further referendum on alternative options.

Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?

There has been a long running dispute between Argentina and the U.K. over the status of the Falkland Islands. In 1982 Argentina invaded the Islands, resulting in the U.K. sending troops to the archipelago. Hundreds were killed in the conflict, which last around ten weeks.

Tensions have risen in recent weeks, with U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague accusing Argentina of “bullying and intimidatory behaviour” towards the Falkland Islands, while Argentina’s Foreign Minister Hector Timerman said that Argentina would control the Islands within 20 years.

Mr Timerman accused Britain of behaving like “fanatics” over the Falklands, saying: “I think they are using the people living in the islands for political reasons and to have access to oil and natural resources which belong to the Argentine people.”

Prime Minister David Cameron said the “referendum will determine beyond doubt the views of the people of the Falklands. Britain will respect and defend their choice.”

Last year Argentine authorities stopped U.K flagged ships, as well as Bermuda flagged ships, from docking in one of the country’s ports, citing a provincial law linked to Argentina’s complaint over the sovereignty of the Falklands.

In addition to Bermuda and the Falklands Islands, there are twelve other British Overseas Territories: Anguilla, the British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St Helena, Turks and Caicos, Pitcairn Island, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, and the Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus.

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Comments (13)

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  1. O says:

    I wonder what England is using us for? can’t think of any reasons out side of owning us just for owning us sake..More benefits for us in Bermuda

    • Loquatz says:

      Umm, yeah, clearly we benefit the most from the relationship. I don’t much like the brits, but I love me British passport.

      • Luis Van Persie says:

        I’m not sure what the Brits have done to upset you, be grateful they can still be bothered with Bermuda. There isn’t much in it for them as far as I can see.

        The Falklands will vote to stay British by a landslide. Would you want to be Argentinian?

      • HP Sauce says:

        Every day I wake, I thank the Lord I’m British.

  2. BrendaNK says:

    Out of these 3,000 people currently living on the islands, only 1,300 or so were born there. The rest are mostly British migrants usually connected to the British government. Of those, there are around 1,000 military personnel and their families.

  3. Richard says:

    Anyway be happy UK still controls BDA we have nothing to offer Bermuda people are not big fans of history you spend so much time looking down other island and don’t take the time see why they are in the state they are in. lol Anyway for the falklands this is a no Brainer I believe they might have just found natural gas or oil on the Island with a little more then 3000 people they are about to be the richest people in the world what do they need the UK for. And Bermuda has what to offer

    • Zombie Apocalypse says:

      “what do they need the UK for”…?

      If they decide not to be British they will become Argentinian. I have a feeling it will be an overwhelming vote to stay British.

  4. Rufus says:

    @ O

    As a Brit (and an English one at that), I can’t for the life of me think what we (as a country) are “using” Bermuda for either.

    Other than as a rather nice place to go for a holiday that is (looking at the weather forecast online, apparently it’s 70 degrees and cloudy in Hamilton, which beats the snow that is currently falling in my part of the UK).

    • Rufus says:

      I think I’ve figured it out.
      St George’s and the Castle Island Fortifications count as being one of the twenty-eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites that are in the UK and the BOTs (there are 24 in/on the island of Great Britain, one in Northern Ireland (the Giant’s Causeway), one in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (Gough and Inaccessible Islands), one in Pitcairn (Henderson Island) and St George’s).

      Not sure exactly how useful that is, but it’s about all I’ve come up with after a day of thought…

  5. BritBob says:

    There are approximately 3,000 Falkland Islanders and 1,000 British military personnel on the Falkland Islands. The Argentine Defence Minister has said that if it was not for the British Garrison the Argentine’s would be on the islands.

    The Argentine’s deny that the islanders have the right to self determination but the Secretary General of the UN appears to disagree with this. On 12th November 2012 when being interviewed by a reporter from the Argentine newspaper Tiempo Argentino about the forthcoming Falklands referendum, Ban Ki-Moon said, ‘The impression is that people who are living under certain conditions should have access to certain level of capacities so that they can decide their own future.’ Ban Ki-Moon also confirmed that the UK is not in breach of UN Resolutions over the Falklands. It wasn’t what the reporter wanted to hear.

  6. navin johnson says:

    3,000 to 0 to remain British

  7. Nuffin but de Truth! says:

    Screw the Argies,let them try invading again.