On March 11, results from a two-day referendum showed that 99.8% of Falklanders wanted to remain a British Overseas Territory.
To put it another way: Of the 1,517 votes cast in the referendum, only three answered “no” to the question, “Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom.”
The total of 1,517 votes cast represented a 92% turnout among the approx. 1,650 eligible Falkland voters, and sent a resounding message to “the U.N. and other nations attempting to force the UK into bilateral negotiations with Argentina over the fate of the Islands.”
“Pro-British feeling” is strong in the Falkland Islands, particularly because “residents have been perturbed by Argentina’s increasingly vocal claim over the Malvinas–as the Islands are called in Spanish.”
Up till now, the Obama admin has been pro-Argentina in the debate, insisting the Falkland Islands remain open to negotiations. It remains to be seen what posture they will take from here forward.
As for the British, they say the Falklanders have chosen to be British and “have a right to self-determination as enshrined in the U.N. charter.”
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