HOME PAGE Falkland Focus News from the Falkland Islands Government Number: 68 - September/October 1999	PRINCE ANDREW VISITS THE FALKLAND ISLANDS STAND AT THE ROYAL SHOW
THIS PAGE - British/Argentine Agreement Sealed - Royal Visitors at the Royal Show
PAGE 2 - Falkland Islands appoints new Chief Executive - Islands Councillors speak at the United Nations - Sporting success for the Islands - Commemorative coin - Students achieve A level success - Prince Charles joins Falklands Conservation - New Minister for the Falkland Islands - Fisheries Agreement update
PAGE 3 - Focus on Tourism - Conservation - An oasis of wildlife - The Capital: Stanley - The 1982 Battlesites - Fishing in the Falklands - Information Box

British/Argentine Agreement Sealed

Britain and Argentina signed an agreement on 14 July 1999 designed to build confidence and reduce tension between the Falkland Islands and Argentina. Falkland Islands Councillors Sharon Halford and Mike Summers witnessed the Agreement on behalf of the Falkland Islands Government. It is significant that the Joint Statement records that the UK delegation included, "Members of the Falkland Islands Legislative Council," which may seem simply a reflection of reality, but it is the first time that Argentina has been prepared to acknowledge that reality.

Press releases

The Agreement consists of the following measures: The Falkland Islands and Argentina will enhance co-operation on fisheries conservation and agree a co-ordinated programme to tackle poaching. Practical measures will be put in place by 9 October. The Argentine Government will review the Spanish place names for Falkland Islands locations, which were imposed under decree by General Galtieri. For example, Stanley is called Puerto Argentino in the Argentine media. Argentine citizens will be allowed entry into the Islands with an Argentine passport, ending the ban on access introduced after the 1982 Conflict. All visitors must comply with Falkland Islands Government entry requirements. A memorial for the Argentine servicemen who lost their lives in 1982 will be constructed in the Argentine cemetery in the Falkland Islands. As agreed in October 1998, the UK and Argentine Governments will continue to work together to evaluate the feasibility and cost of clearing landmines still present in the Falkland Islands. The weekly flight between Chile and the Falkland Islands, which was suspended in March by the Chilean Government following the arrest of General Pinochet in the UK, has been resumed. From 16 October the service will include two stops per month (one each way) in Rio Gallegos in Argentina.

The Agreement does not detract from the firm positions of the British and Falkland Islands Governments on sovereignty or the Islanders' right to self-determination.

Foreign Secretary Robin Cook commended the Islands Councillors for initiating the talks, the third in a series of recent meetings between Britain and Argentina. He said that it was an historic occasion as it was the first successful dialogue between the Foreign Ministers of Argentina and Britain, including members of the Islands Council, since the Conflict in 1982. "As a result of that new approach," he said, "we have been able to conclude an agreement on a package of measures that will build confidence and reduce tension between the Falkland Islands and Argentina. Nothing here compromises either our position on sovereignty, or for that matter the position of the Government of Argentina."

The Falkland Islands Councillors said: "We believe we have secured what is in all circumstances a good deal for the Falkland Islands and for our part we intend to fulfil our obligations in good faith." The Councillors stressed that the future of the Islands depended on the effective conservation and management of the fisheries and this could not be achieved in isolation.

The Islands weekly newspaper, Penguin News, noted in its editorial on 16 July that the Agreement "appears reasonably palatable to most" recognising the importance of conserving fish stocks, as the fisheries provide the "economic backbone" of the Islands.

The first flight from Chile, with Argentine passport holders onboard, arrived on Saturday 7 August and included journalists, tourists and a veteran of the 1982 Conflict. Councillor Mike Summers OBE said: "Together with the Argentine Government, and its people who are now guests in our country, we are all under an obligation to build a new relationship of confidence and mutual trust between our nations."

Foreign Secretary Robin Cook: "It marks a change from an era of confrontation to a new chapter of dialogue and co-operation."

Royal Visitors at the Royal Show

Sukey Cameron, the Falkland Islands Government UK Representative, welcomed HRH The Duke of York to the Falkland Islands stand at the Royal Show in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire on 7 July. The Duke chatted to Sukey and her team and was pleased to hear that the woollen mill that he had opened on the Islands in 1985 was doing well. HRH The Duke of Gloucester also visited the stand.

It is the second year that the Falkland Islands Government has had a presence at the Royal Show and the stand once again attracted positive interest from visitors. "The shows provide a great opportunity to inform the UK public about the many exciting developments in the Islands and also to dispel many of the myths that surround us," said Sukey.

The Falkland Islands Government was also represented at the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh in June.

The photo at the masthead shows HRH The Duke of York, left, with Sukey Cameron, Falkland Islands UK Representative, Ian Cox, Falkland Islands Development Board and far right, Doug Cartridge, Falkland Islands Department of Agriculture.



PAGE 2 Falkland Islands appoints new Chief Executive - Islands Councillors speak at the United Nations - Sporting success for the Islands - Commemorative coin - Students achieve A level success - Prince Charles joins Falklands Conservation - New Minister for the Falkland Islands - Fisheries Agreement update

PAGE 3 Focus on Tourism - Conservation - An oasis of wildlife - The Capital: Stanley - The 1982 Battlesites - Fishing in the Falklands - Information Box




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