You are now missing the point. Of course there is/was a reason GB was 'interested' in the Falkland islands. But I don't see there being any displaced indigenous population petitioning to be let back onto the place.
The only reason the Argentinians want it back is the reason we occupied it in the first place - fishing and minerals. Put it this way, 'giving back' the Falklands to Argentinia would be the same as 'giving back' Northern Ireland to the republic of Ireland. It doesn't matter how the sovereignty of a country was established, there are generations of people born in those places so they are just as much 'Falklander' or 'Irish' as anyone else. They have a right to decide who governs them. Although my history isn't fantastic on this point, I cannot think of a single occasion where a country was 'given back' and the current population of that country were 'taken back' and the land vacated. Apart from the current situation in Gaza. That was difficult enough (to repatriate the Jewish settlers), and the land had only be 'occupied' for 20years or so. If you go back further than a generation of settlers in a peaceful country then you get into all sorts of mess and end up supporting the likes of Saddam Hussein who insisted that Kuwait was in fact Iraqi property. Somewhat ironic given the history of Iraq but I digress. In other words, a line needs to be drawn somewhere and then everyone should just get on with their lives and move forward, instead of squabbling over piles of rock or sand that was theirs 800 years ago, or that was ceded (for a reason) in treaties, or their particular version of a holy book says is their birthright. > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:leedslist- > [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Nick Allen > Sent: 28 June 2006 09:00 > To: [email protected] > Subject: FW: FW: [LU] Who NOT to win the WC > > > > >I'm not talking about past, I'm living in the now. We cannot 'give > back' the Falklands as the inhabitants (all 20 of them) are British >and > crucially want to remain British. > > - ever heard of Diego Garcia? - small island in the mid-Indian Ocean - > part of the former British Empire - very strategically well placed for > bombing raids on Asia - so in the mid-1960's Britain, at the behest of > the US, forcibly removed the indigenous population, all of whom held > British passports, leased the island to the US - they built a whacking > great airbase and proceeded to bomb the fuck out of any country that has > displeased them in Asia. Despite several legal victories, human rights > courts' finding against them and UN condemnation neither the British nor > the US govts will contemplate the return of these indigenous peoples to > their homeland, even though they are British citizens and British law > has ruled in their favour - because it doesn't suit the UK or the US... > > Its not what the people - be they Falkland Islanders or from Diego > Garcia - want, it's the strategic value - whether for mineral reserves > or militarily of the islands that will determine whether a gvt goes to > war. They will just tell you otherwise. > > BTW - whoever mentioned that we haven't been at war with East Timor - > technically correct - however I would bet the average East Timorese > would like a word with the British govt officials that allowed British > Aerospace to sell those jets to the Indonesian occupying gvt so they > could bomb the independence fighters of East Timor back into the hills. > > _______________________________________________ > the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators > accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. > Leedslist mailing list > [email protected] > http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist > oh alright then :-) _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist oh alright then :-)
