Pirates Forever

                                               

Captain Jack Sparrow is not someone one might typically associate with the Royal Navy, but in the eyes of the Argentine president, they are one and the same as Argentina condemns English military exercises and President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner accuses the British Royal Navy of being pirates.

‘We reject and demand the suspension of all war activities,’ said CFK, who has demanded that the British Ambassador in Buenos Aires, Shan Morgan meet with the Argentine Chancellor, after the Servicio de Hidrografía Naval argentino received communication from British forces about a project to realise missile tests from the Falkland Islands.

‘Serious. Very serious,’ the President wrote during a tempestuous twitter tirade, ‘Royal Navy, colonial occupying force of the Las Islas Malvinas announces military exercise with missiles on the east coast of Isla Soledad.’

And she went on.

‘It is gravely unjust to test missiles from what a UN resolution accepts is disputed territory.’

And on.

‘Typical nineteenth century colonialism. Anachronistic use of force, violating international law. They don’t care. Clear example of double standards.

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Of course, Argentine history tells us that politicians tend to rattle on about Las Malvinas at carefully chosen moments, (more often than not when there are economic problems or popularity issues) but CFK has long vouched to fight for the islands, which for the general populous here, are absolutely and undoubtedly Argentine. Hey, the local maps of the country with their bracketed ARG next to the islands’ Latin American name say so, the school teachers teach so, and neighbourhoods like Malvinas Argentinas proclaim so. Why would anyone think otherwise?

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez twittered CFK to give his support. ‘All of the Bolivarian solidarity for you and the beloved Argentine people. Down with colonialism. The Islands are Argentine,’ he wrote.

While a British response to CFK’s outlandish outburst came from a Embassy spokesman in Buenos Aires who spoke to La Nacion newspaper to say, ‘we are a little taken aback because these tests are routine and are carried out every six months. They’ve been happening for twenty-eight years.’

La Nacion also wrote that in an earlier incident last Thursday, according to the British tabloid, The Sun, 'there was a floating stand off when an Argentine warship confronted a Port Stanley vessel, the FV Venturerer, 3.5 miles inside Falklands' waters to falsely accuse it of illegal fishing.'   

The Falklands have caused a tad more fuss than usual as of late, since the UK gave the go ahead for private companies to drill there. Initial tests suggesting there could be around £3 billion ($4.5 billion) of oil in the region.