In a bid to diffuse tensions between Argentina and the United Kingdom, BBC News reports that the Falkland Islands will hold a referendum on its political status early next year. The islands, which are recognized as an overseas British territory, are also claimed by Argentina, which it calls the Malvinas.
The referendum comes in light of 30th anniversary of the Falklands War, which ended Argentina’s 74-day occupation of the islands in 1982. Argentina, which has implemented what UK ministers call an “economic blockade” of the islands, has recently turned away cruise ships that carry the British flag and has begun taking legal action against five British firms interested in oil exploration of the Falklands’ coast.
Says Gavin Short, chairman of the Falklands’ legislative assembly, “I have no doubt that the people of the Falklands wish for the islands to remain a self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom.”
