• 'Message ... to the world': 99.8 percent of Falkland Islanders vote to retain British rule

    Falkland Islanders voted almost unanimously to remain part of Britain. Union Jack flags were abundant, and many people turned out in British red white and blue. Bill Neely reports from Argentina.

    By Marcos Brindicci and Juan Bustamante, Reuters

    STANLEY, Falkland Islands -- Residents of the Falkland Islands voted almost unanimously to stay under British rule in a referendum aimed at winning global sympathy as Argentina intensifies its sovereignty claim, results showed on Monday.

    The official count showed 99.8 percent of islanders voted in favor of remaining a British Overseas Territory in the two-day referendum, which was rejected by Argentina as a meaningless publicity stunt. Only three "no" votes were cast.

    "Surely this must be the strongest message we can get out to the world," said Roger Edwards, one of the Falklands assembly's eight elected members.

    "(The message is) that we are content, that we wish to retain the status quo ... with the right to determine our own future and not become a colony of Argentina."

    Javier Lizon / EPA

    Falkland Islanders celebrate in Port Stanley on Monday. Of the 1,517 ballots cast, just three were against the motion to remain a British overseas territory.

    Pro-British feeling is running high in the barren and blustery islands that lie off the tip of Patagonia, and turnout was 92 percent among the 1,649 Falklands-born and long-term residents registered to vote.

    Three decades since Argentina and Britain went to war over the far-flung South Atlantic archipelago, residents have been perturbed by Argentina's increasingly vocal claim over the Malvinas -- as the islands are called in Spanish.

    Local politicians hope the resounding "yes" vote will help them lobby support abroad, for example in the United States, which has a neutral position on the sovereignty issue.

    "We're never going to change Argentina's claim and point of view, but I believe there are an awful lot of countries out there that are sitting on the fence. ... This is going to show them quite clearly what the people think," Edwards added.

    'We are British'
    The mood was festive as islanders lined up in the cold to vote in the low-key island capital of Stanley during voting, some wearing novelty outfits made from the red, white and blue Union Jack flag.

    "We are British, and that's the way we want to stay," said Barry Nielsen, who wore a Union Jack hat to cast his ballot at the town hall polling station in Stanley, where most of the roughly 2,500 islanders live.

    Argentina's fiery left-leaning president, Cristina Fernandez, has piled pressure on Britain to negotiate the sovereignty of the islands, something London refuses to do unless the islanders request talks.

    Government officials in Buenos Aires questioned the referendum's legitimacy. They say the sovereignty dispute must be resolved between Britain and Argentina and cite U.N. resolutions calling on London to sit down for talks.

    Argentina has claimed the islands since 1833, saying it inherited them from the Spanish on independence and that Britain expelled an Argentine population.

    Javier Lizon / EPA

    A man wearing a Union flag suit dances as he casts his vote in the referendum to decide if the Falkland Islands would remain a British territory.

    Falkland islanders, who are enjoying an economic boom thanks partly to the sale of oil and natural gas exploration licenses, say they do not expect Monday's result to sway Argentina.

    "Argentina's stance on the Falklands will stay the same," said Stanley resident Craig Paice, wearing a T-shirt with the slogan "Our Islands, Our Decision" as he waited to vote on Monday.

    "But hopefully the world will now listen and know the people of the Falkland Islands have a voice."

    Related:

    Argentina slams Olympic ad that sparked row with Britain

    UK accuses Argentina of 'threats' and 'harassment' over Falklands

    From Jan. 2012: Will Prince William's tour of duty reignite simmering Falklands dispute?

    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

  • Argentine Olympic Committee slams ad that sparked row with Britain

    An Argentinian television ad showing an Olympic hopeful training on a British war memorial in the Falklands has been branded a "stunt" by foreign secretary William Hague. ITN reports.

    By msnbc.com staff

    Argentina's Olympic Committee is distancing itself from a television ad that has sparked a dispute with Britain ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.

    Britain demanded an apology from Argentina over the controversial 90-second ad, aired on Argentine television last week, showing an athlete training in the Falkland Islands, the British territory in the south Atlantic to which Buenos Aires lays claim.

    Set to stirring music, the ad shows Argentine field hockey captain Fernando Zylberberg training for the games by running through the islands' capital of Stanley, passing by British symbols such as a red telephone booth. When Zylberberg reaches the memorial to British sailors who died in the war, he is seen doing step-ups on it. 

    The ad concludes with the provocative slogan, "To compete on English soil, we train on Argentine soil."

    “Desecrating a war memorial, using it as a cheap prop in a very tawdry little advert, I think that just says so much about the way that [Argentine President Cristina] Fernández de Kirchner is conducting her business,” Falklands War veteran Simon Weston told ITN.

    The ad was made and released by the Argentine government, led by President Fernández de Kirchner, who is attempting to rally international opinion behind her country's claim to the islands.

    London has controlled the islands since 1833. Argentina has long claimed the territory, saying it inherited it from Spain on independence and that Britain expelled an Argentine population from the islands.

    UK accuses Argentina of 'harassment', 'threats' over Falkland Islands

    Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague told ITN Argentina was misusing the Olympics for political gain.

    “I think they are now resorting to one or two stunts, I don’t think they will win any support for that," Hague said. "Any attempt to misuse the Olympic Games for political purposes isn’t going to go down well anywhere in the world.”

    The Falkland Islands sports council told ITN it planned to complain about the ad to the International Olympic Committee.

    "It’s caused a lot of reaction here because of the athlete doing step-ups on the war memorial, and that pretty disrespectful,” Mike Summers, chair of Falklands Nation Sports Council told ITN.

    The IOC later sent a letter to Argentina's national Olympic committee denouncing the ad.

    The Argentine national Olympic committee responded in a statement released on Tuesday: "The Argentine National Olympic Committee is fully committed to the Olympic charter and the best practices of the Olympic movement. We strongly believe the Olympic Games are not a platform for politics and we have communicated this position to the International Olympic Committee."

    ITN and Reuters contributed to this report.

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  • UK accuses Argentina of 'harassment', 'threats' over Falkland Islands

    By msnbc.com staff and news services

    The U.K.'s foreign minister accused Argentina of "harassment" and "threats" over the Falkland Islands, saying that its policy toward the south Atlantic islands was “deeply regrettable.”

    William Hague made the comments in an article on Monday for the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Argentine invasion of the islands.

    "In place of the dialogue and engagement we saw in the 1990s, Argentina has in recent years taken a range of measures to try to coerce the islands: from attempts to intimidate businesses involved in the hydrocarbons industry, to the harassment of Falkland fishing vessels by the Argentine coastguard; from threats to cut the one air link between the islands and South America, to actually closing its ports to cruise ships that have visited the Falklands," Hague wrote.

     

    Services were being held in both Britain and Argentina to mark the 30th anniversary of the start of the Falklands War, in which 255 British and 650 Argentine troops died. The conflict ended after 74 days when the Argentinian forces surrendered.

    Relations between the countries are at their chilliest in years as Buenos Aires launches a multi-pronged diplomatic offensive to assert its claim to sovereignty over the South Atlantic islands, which it calls the Malvinas.

    "I am a Malvinist president," President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner said, according to The Guardian. "It is an injustice that a colonialist enclave still exists a few hundred kilometers from our shores in the 21st century. It is absurd to pretend dominion 8,000 miles overseas."

    Fernandez addressed war veterans in the chilly Patagonian city of Ushuaia.

    "We demand too that they stop plundering our environment, our natural resources - fish and oil," she said, reiterating her calls for London to agree to sovereignty negotiations.

    "We're not demanding anything more than that - dialogue between both countries to discuss the sovereignty issue, respecting the interests of the islanders," said Fernandez, a combative center-leftist who easily won re-election last year.

    Oil discovery raises stakes
    London has controlled the islands since 1833. Argentina has long claimed the territory, saying it inherited it from Spain on independence and that Britain expelled an Argentine population from the islands.

    While a repeat of the 1982 military conflict is seen as highly unlikely, the dispute could jeopardize Britain's drive for closer economic and trade ties with emerging Latin America powers such as Brazil.

    The discovery of oil off the Falklands has raised the stakes, leading Argentina to threaten to sue companies involved in oil exploration.

    Argentina has also protested to the United Nations over British "militarization" of the South Atlantic.

    The Guardian newspaper reported that Argentina has grown increasingly unhappy about the prospect of missing out on a potential £115 billion oil boom around the islands.

    It has now escalated the dispute with a two-page letter sent to 15 banks, thought to include Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays Capital and Goldman Sachs, warning them of possible civil and criminal charges if they continue work with the five London-listed exploration companies.

    Drive on other side of road
    Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron said he remains committed to upholding British sovereignty over the islands, the BBC reported.

    "We are rightly proud of the role Britain played in righting a profound wrong. And the people of the Falkland Islands can be justly proud of the prosperous and secure future they have built for their islands since 1982," he said.

    Among those remembering the conflict on Monday was radio presenter Patrick Watts, whose studio was invaded at about 9 a.m. local time on April 2, 1982.

    Six Argentine soldiers entered the room and pointed their guns at his back, he recalled in an interview with Britain’s Sky News.

    The soldiers forced him to play pre-recorded tapes in Spanish and English ordering residents to drive on the other side of the road and speak Spanish in schools.

    Although Argentina’s air force is now ageing, a report by the U.K. National Defence Association said Britain would be “hard put to protect, reinforce or re-take the islands” without an aircraft carrier.

    Msnbc.com staff and Reuters contributed to this report.

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  • Argentina to protest 'militarization' of South Atlantic at UN

    Argentina is slamming Prince William's deployment to the Falklands. Some Argentine veterans say the move is aggressive and arrogant, but most residents on the islands are preparing to welcome the Prince. ITN's Bill Neely reports.

    By msnbc.com staff

    Argentina’s government plans to lodge a complaint with the United Nations over “militarization” of the South Atlantic, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner announced on Tuesday.

    "Malvinas is no longer an Argentine cause, it's now a Latin American cause, a global cause," Fernandez said, calling the Falkland Islands by the name they're known by in Argentina.

    Fernandez said she wants peace with in the region and "democracy and sovereignty" in the islands, according to an English translation published by the Buenos Aires Herald.

     

    Argentina’s planned complaint to the United Nations assembly was first reported on a Twitter post by the BBC.

    Prince William flies first Falklands sortie for RAF stint

    Fernandez also said she would sign a decree declassifying a secret military-era report about the 1982 Falklands War. A government panel will review the Rattenbach Report, which is said to outline mistakes made by the junta at the time of the bloody conflict. The panel will decide what can remain classified, she said.

    Fernandez spoke before a diverse assembly of government and union leaders in a nationally televised address.

    British diplomat: Argentina may block flights to Falklands

    The announcement came as tension was resurfacing between Britain and Argentina over sovereignty of the British-ruled islands off the South American continent.

    Britain has rankled Argentina on the 30th anniversary of a war by sending one of its most-advanced naval vessels, the HMS Dauntless destroyer, on a mission there. And on Saturday, Britain's Prince William took to the skies over the Falklands in his first sortie as a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue helicopter pilot.

    Argentina to UK: Prince arriving dressed as 'conquistador'

    For its part, the Argentine government has been critical of British actions. The Argentine foreign minister called Prince Williams appearance in the Falklands, as if he was arriving as a “conquistador.”

    On Tuesday, Argentina, which owns the rights to the country’s wildly popular first-division soccer league matches, named the upcoming season in honor a naval ship sunk by British torpedoes during the conflict.

    During the 74-day Falkland war, 649 Argentines and 257 Britons died. The war humiliated the military government and paved the way for Argentina’s return to democracy.

    More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

     

  • Argentina to UK: Prince arriving dressed as 'conquistador'

    John Stillwell / AFP - Getty Images, file

    Britain's Prince William will be deployed to the Falkland Islands early 2012 on a six-week tour of duty as a search and rescue helicopter pilot.

    By msnbc.com staff and news services

    LONDON -- Argentina lashed out at Great Britain as Prince William headed to the Falkland Islands, saying that the second-in-line to the throne would arrive on the disputed South Atlantic archipelago "dressed in the uniform of a conquistador."

    "The Argentinian people are disappointed that the heir to the throne is arriving on sovereign soil dressed in the uniform of a conquistador, and not with the wisdom of a statesman who works for peace and dialogue between nations," Argentina's foreign relations ministry said in a statement entitled "More diplomacy, fewer weapons" (link in Spanish).

    The assignment of Prince William, a Royal Air Force helicopter pilot, for a six-week military mission in the Falklands in February and March has been a sore point for Argentina. It has sought to reclaim the South Atlantic archipelago that it calls the Malvinas Islands ever since Britain seized the islands some 180 years ago.

    Both countries have engaged in a war of words in recent weeks ahead of the 30th anniversary of Argentina's failed attempt to take the islands back. Its invasion ended with more than 600 Argentine soldiers killed and 200 British dead in an international humiliation for Argentina's military junta.

    In the statement, the South American country also appeared to lecture the conservative-led government of David Cameron on the reasons behind William's deployment.

    "Governments should avoid the temptation to indulge in speeches that transform patriotism into jingoism with the aim of distracting the public's attention from economic policies ... and high unemployment," the Argentine statement added.

    Argentina says Prince Williams deployment to the Falklands is provocative. Britain says his deployment is routine for a search and rescue pilot. The timing Williams's deployment is sensitive because it is has been thirty years since British forces liberated the Falkland Islands from Argentina. ITN's Bill Neely reports.

    The British government, which is struggling with high unemployment rates and sluggish growth, may have slipped back into recession at the end of 2011, some experts warn.

    Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office did not immediately reply to msnbc.com's request for comment.

    Little appetite for war
    Weakened by that defeat 30 years ago, the Argentine dictatorship soon allowed the return of democracy, and the population has had little appetite since then for war.

    Instead, Argentina hopes diplomatic and economic measures will pressure Britain to comply with United Nations resolutions encouraging both countries to negotiate the islands' sovereignty. British leaders have refused to do that.

    The pressure on Britain includes a ban by South America's Mercosur nations on any Falklands-flagged vessels entering their ports. That action prompted British Prime Minister David Cameron to accuse Argentine President Cristina Fernandez of having "colonialist" aims on an island population that wants to remain a British dependency. She accused Cameron of "mediocrity bordering on stupidity."

    British Foreign Secretary William Hague came back with more fighting words Tuesday, telling Sky News that Britain is sending one of its most modern warships, the destroyer HMS Dauntless, to the Falklands. He called the deployment a routine replacement of another warship, but also stressed that "the Royal Navy packs a very considerable punch."

    A spokesman for Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “Flight Lieutenant Wales will complete a routine deployment to the Falkland Islands as part of a normal routine squadron crew rotation. This is part of his training and career progression as a Search and Rescue pilot within the RAF. It is entirely in line with normal squadron crew rotation for Search and Rescue pilots and in no way affects our policy on the Falkland Islands.
     
    “In accordance with international law, we would expect international partners to recognise both our right to enact this deployment and the vital role search and rescue operations play in improving safety worldwide.”

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    Msnbc.com staff and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

  • Britain sending advanced warship to Falklands

    The Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless arrives in her home port of Portsmouth in a December 2, 2009, file photo. A British minister will travel to the Falkland Islands in June to take part in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of Britain's recapture of the islands from occupying Argentine troops.

    By msnbc.com staff and news services

    Britain's HMS Dauntless, touted as one of the most sophisticated warships in the world, will set sail to the disputed Falkland Islands in coming weeks in what the government called a routine operation.

    The futuristic destroyer will replace the frigate HMS Montrose, the Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday. The deployment has long been planned but comes as tensions rise between Britain and Argentina over the status of the islands, which are a British dependency.

    The Dauntless, armed with anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic capability, could "take out all of South America's fighter aircraft let alone Argentina's," one Navy source told the U.K.'s Telegraph.

    The news comes shortly before Prince William, heir to the British throne, is due to arrive in the Falkland Islands as part of his air force training.

    Britain accuses Argentina of 'colonialism'

    Foreign Secretary William Hague told Sky News that while HMS Dauntless's deployment is routine, the British ship "packs a very considerable punch."

    A Royal Navy spokesman downplayed the $1 billion destroyer's deployment and rejected that it was a sign of escalation in the tensions between the two countries.

    "The Royal Navy has had a continuous presence in the south Atlantic for many years. The deployment of HMS Dauntless to the south Atlantic has been long planned, is entirely routine and replaces another ship on patrol," he told the Guardian.

    Last month, Argentina persuaded Brazil, Uruguay and Chile to join a Mercosur trade group resolution to turn away any ship flying the Falklands'flag — which depicts a sheep and a ship along with the United Kingdom's red, white and blue Union Jack.

    Argentina claims sovereignty of the Falklands, 290 miles (460 kilometers) east of its coast. U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron has also recently stressed that the people of the Falklands must decide their own future and said Argentina is taking a colonialist approach to the islands' residents.

    London's Foreign Office said Tuesday that junior minister Jeremy Browne will travel to the islands in June to mark the 30th anniversary of Britain's brief 1982 war with Argentina over the territory. Browne will be the first foreign minister to visit the Falklands since 2008. Prime Minister David Cameron's office said the British leader had no plans to visit.

    Earlier this month, Britain announced that Prince Harry will visit Brazil in March as part of the U.K.'s effort to strengthen ties with Latin America.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Argentina says Prince William's deployment to the Falklands is provocative. Britain says his deployment is routine for a search and rescue pilot. The timing William's deployment is sensitive because it is has been thirty years since British forces liberated the Falkland Islands from Argentina. ITN's Bill Neely reports.

    More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

  • Will Prince William's tour of duty reignite simmering Falklands dispute?

    Prince William, a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue helicopter pilot, will be deployed 8,000 miles away from home, at a base in the Falkland Islands, a British colony off the coast of Argentina. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.

    By Jack Rees, NBC News

    LONDON -- As Prince William prepares to head 8,000 miles from home to serve as a helicopter pilot in the remote Falkland Islands, the traditional "Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves!" refrain seems rather far-fetched.

    Britain's naval fleet was once twice the combined size of its two closest rivals. But austerity cuts have seen billions of pounds vanish from military budgets. Even the Royal Navy's flagship aircraft carrier hasn't been spared -- HMS Ark Royal was sent to the scrapyard last year.

    Tensions have been increasing between Argentina and the U.K. as the 30th anniversary of their 10-week war over the Falklands approaches. Argentina claims sovereignty over the British-ruled islands, which are about 300 miles off its coast in the South Atlantic.

    'Provocative act'
    Britain's oil prospecting on the seabed near the islands has added fuel to the fire. Buenos Aires has condemned such exploration as illegal. There has also been a war of words over territorial fishing rights and President Cristina Fernandez has pledged an "eternal fight" to reclaim the islands.

    Britain has ruled the Falklands for more than 180 years.

    When Prince William's posting was announced by the Royal Air Force, one Argentine official described the move as a "provocative act."

    Reuters reported that Britain's National Security Council discussed the islands' defenses on Tuesday.

    Prime Minister David Cameron subsequently accused Argentina of "colonialism" in its claim to the Falklands, saying Britain was committed to protecting the islands and insisting that people there should be allowed to decide their own nationality.

    "These people want to remain British and the Argentinians want them to do something else," Cameron told lawmakers.

    Florencio Randazzo, Argentina's interior minister, later described Cameron's comments as "totally offensive," Reuters reported.

    Olympic protest?
    Even this summer's Olympics in London appear in danger of becoming entangled in  the spat. Some Argentine athletes have discussed plans to wear a logo on their uniforms stating: "The Falklands are Argentine."

    According to The Associated Press, Britain maintains about 1,000 troops in the territory, which is home to about 3,000 people.

    Lasting 74 days, the 1982 conflict ended with 258 British lives lost and six ships sunk. The cost to Argentina was even greater: 649 killed with 11,313 others captured. Its navy lost a submarine, a cruiser and 75 fixed-wing aircraft.

    Some now wonder if the Royal Navy would be able to respond to a similar overseas crisis today.

    When asked if Britain would be sending an aircraft carrier to the Falklands during Prince William's military service, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense told NBC News: "No, we don't have one." HMS Ark Royal was decommissioned in March.

    The aircraft carrier Invincible, Britain's flagship vessel in the Falklands war, has been put up for sale to raise money in the face of impending military budget cuts. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

    The Ministry of Defense spokesman pointed out the Falklands boast a "well-defended airfield with Typhoon aircraft."

    But Admiral Sandy Woodward, who commanded the task force that liberated the Falklands' British population from Argentine occupation in 1982, believes the islands "are now perilously close to being indefensible."

    Major General Julian Thompson, the brigadier who led the initial British assault 30 years ago, told NBC News he believed that if Argentina invaded the islands now, the U.K.'s military could not get them back without an aircraft carrier.

    He dismissed reinforcement by air instead of sea as "sheer nonsense."

    "We certainly won't get over-flying rights or basing facilities within range of the Falklands – assuming the Argentines have taken the airfield and destroyed the Typhoons there," Thompson added.

    So how powerful is today's Royal Navy? Critics highlight that when Russian ships were spotted off the Scottish coast last year, Britain could only send the aging  frigate HMS York on an 800-mile journey from a base in England.

    Two under-construction aircraft carriers are behind schedule and won't be ready for about another decade.

    Bearing that in mind, might Argentina be prepared to move beyond rhetoric when Prince William's presence draws the world's attention to the Falklands beginning next month?

    One thing appears likely. Before his six-week tour of duty, William will have surely discussed the Falklands war with his uncle. Prince Andrew was a helicopter pilot during the conflict.