perry
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jp said:It seems strange to refer to the settlement as "an invasion". Nobody had ever successfully settled the islands. In 1833 a tiny handful of settlers displaced another tiny handful of settlers with minimal bloodshed.
Also worth bearing in mind that the islands weren't considered national territory at the time they were "invaded". Patagonia wouldn't be conquered until the 1870s in the somewhat less than glorious Conquest of the Desert. The claim that the islands belong to Argentina isn't particularly well supported by history. Its much more of a modern, political claim that has been brought to prominence in recent decades.
There's no getting away from the fact that people have lived there peacefully for almost as long as Argentina itself has existed. Every UN resolution acknowledges that the islanders should have a say over their future.
Personally I think that the islands would be better off being aligned with South America than Britain in the long term. I'm sure they could keep their cultural integrity, autonomy and work out a beneficial solution regarding the fishing rights and hydrocarbon reserves.
Persuade the Islanders that union with Argentina is in their best interests, and the sovereignty dispute is settled. Unfortunately there's enormous political capital to be made in protracting a 200 year old "dispute" for as long as possible. Based on this, I don't see any progress being made any time soon.
Its ironic that your post talks about people and their rights when many peoples with a much longer history than the Malvinas have lost their lands and Great Britain did nothing . The Changas islands ( Diego Garcia) was sold to the USA as an refueling base in the Indian ocean . The original inhabitants were brutally kicked off their lands that they had for many generations all in the name of money.