Falklands Vote Shows 99.8% Want to Stay British

[sheenj]

Falklands Vote Shows 99.8% Want to Stay British

(STANLEY, Falkland Islands) — An overwhelming 99.8 percent of Falkland Islands voters have backed keeping their government just the way it is: a British Overseas Territory.

Of the 1,517 valid votes cast, only 3 islanders voted “no” to the question: “Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?” One vote was somehow lost, officials said Monday.

The referendum was aimed at showing the world that the residents’ self-determination must be considered in any discussion about the future of the remote South Atlantic islands that are claimed by both Britain and Argentina.

Elections officials reported a 92 percent turnout among the approximately 1,650 Falkland Islands voters eligible to cast ballots in the referendum. International election observer Juan Henao said the process was completely normal.

[genesisone]

I was in Paraguay in 1982 where we got an interesting perspective on the Falkland Islands War. The local (Paraguayan) media were fairly neutral and non-inflammatory. The average Paraguayan was quite happy to see the the Argentinians get beaten - by a woman. There has historically been a love-hate relationship between Paraguay and Argentina - Paraguay is dependent in many ways on Argentina especially economically, but several times in the past couple of centuries, Argentina has been the biggest threat to Paraguayan independence.

Once in a while we would hear or see Argentinian reports - always glowing about the heroic efforts of their patriotic soldiers. Those reports suddenly vanished without explanation.

Because of that experience, I've taken interest in that remote corner of the world.

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