The Falklands show the way: Winds of freedom blowing from the Atlantic

 

A strong wind is blowing from the South Atlantic, a wind of democracy. It comes from from the Falkland Islands, which on 10-11 March will hold a self-determination referendum. The issue at stake is whether to retain their status as a largely self-governing entity (a UK overseas territory, with London just responsible for defence and foreign affairs). Across the sea, Argentina is threatening the islands and refusing to recognize that it is the people living there who have a right to decide their own future. Instead of campaigning in favour of integration into Argentina, explaining the advantages (if any) of such course of action, Buenos Aires is mixing threats with claims that the referendum is “irrelevant”, treating the Islands’ population as minors unable to choose their own future.

Unfortunately, this comes as no surprise. In a recent visit to London, Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman refused to speak to Dick Sawle, a member of the Falklands Islands Legislative Assembly. The head of the Argentine Diplomacy went so far as claiming that “There is no such thing as Falkland islanders”.

 

Needless to say, this stands in stark contrast with London’s impeccable democratic credentials. The British Government is supporting the referendum and has made it repeatedly clear that the Falklands will remain a British Overseas Territory for as long as their inhabitants wish. This is British democracy at its best, from bottom up, with government based on the consent of the governed, and institutions the servants and not the masters of the people.

 

Argentinians once assaulted the Islands by force and were soundly defeated, but they do not seem to have learnt the lesson. It is very simple: if they ever want the Falklands to join their country, they have to convince a majority of their population. Not threaten, or intimidate, or insult them, but to convince them. The opposite policy will only widen the gulf between the two societies.

 

Furthermore, can Argentina be a true democracy if she persists in ignoring the Falklanders’ right to decide their own future? It is very doubtful. Countries which try to impose their will on others find themselves unable to enjoy true representative government within their own territory. It is perhaps no coincidence that Argentina goes from crisis to crisis, not only in the economic but also in the political realm. If all the energies devoted to the “Malvinas cause” went into economic development and political regeneration, the country would look very different in a few years time.

 

As a country seeking to restore its sovereignty through peaceful, democratic means, Catalonia cannot but admire this exercise of the right to self-determination, recognized by the UN Charter and myriad other international treaties. Catalans are closely following events in the Falklands and admire the fortitude of the local population in the face of constant threats, their commitment to the development and wellbeing of the Islands, and the democratic attitude of the British Government, based on democracy and the right of peoples to decide their own future.

We should conclude these lines remembering the 255 British servicemen, and 3 local civilians, who died in 1982. Liberty never comes free, and it is thanks to their willingness to pay the ultimate price that a referendum can now take place.

Alex Calvo is a Professor of International Relations and International Law, Head of the IR Department, and Postgraduate Research Director, European University (Barcelona Campus). An expert on Asian security and defence issues, he got his LLB from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS, University of London) and is currently doing an MA in Second World War Studies at the University of Birmingham. He is a former teaching and research fellow at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan).