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Falkland Islands to hold a referendum on political status in 2013
13/06/2012
NEWS IN BRIEF. Falklanders "wish for the Islands to remain a self-governing Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom", says the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly
The government of the Falkland Islands yesterday announced its intention to hold a referendum on the political status of the Atlantic archipelago in the first half of 2013. In a communiqué posted on the government's website, the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly, Gavin Short, explained that the intention of the executive is to "to convey a strong message to the outside world that expresses the views of the Falklands people in a clear, democratic and incontestable way" in the sense that Falklanders "wish for the Islands to remain a self-governing Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom" and that they "have no desire to be ruled by the government in Buenos Aires". The islands are currently claimed by Argentina.
A large majority of Falklanders are of British descent. The main language in the archipelago is English. The Falkland Islands got their own Constitution in 1985, which was replaced by a new one in 2009. The Constitution recognizes that "all peoples have the right to self-determination and by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status" and that "subsequent provisions" contained in the text "shall have effect for the purpose of affording protection" to that right.
