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AGREEMENT OF 14th JULY 1999 Comment - Agreement - Side Letter - PRESS CONFERENCE - Implementation Edited Transcript of Press Conference given at London
on 14 July 1999 Foreign Secretary May I first welcome my colleague Guido di Tella, the Foreign Minister of Argentina. Guido has visited me on many occasions since the general election and on those meetings we laid the groundwork which has culminated in today's agreement. I want to pay tribute to him for the patience and imagination with which he has pursued his approach of seeking a new basis of understanding between Argentina and the Falkland Islanders. I am also pleased to welcome Councillor Sharon Halford and Councillor Mike Summers who have represented the Council in the latest round of talks. I would record my respect and admiration for the major contribution made by all of the Falkland Islands Councillors who have taken part in this process. They have been firm throughout in defending the rights of the Islanders, but they also have been constructive and forward looking in securing the interests of the islanders. As a result they have secured an agreement that is very much in the interests of the community they represent. This week has been the third round in a series of meetings between the government of Argentina, the government of the United Kingdom and the Falkland Islands Council. This is an historic occasion. This round of meetings has been the first successful dialogue between the Foreign Ministers of Argentina and Britain, including members of the Falkland Islands Council, since the conflict began in 1982. It is a measure of the degree of mutual respect and understanding that we have built up through these talks that we are all able to be present before you today. As a result of that new approach 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. Immediately before this press conference the Argentine Foreign Minister and I signed the relevant documents and both delegations, including the Falkland Islands Councillors, signed as witnesses to it. There are four main elements to our agreement:
This agreement has the wholehearted support of the British government. This government has worked hard to build a new and constructive relationship with Argentina. The visit by President Menem, whom we invited to Britain last November, gave great impetus to the relationship between our two countries. His act of reconciliation in laying a wreath at St. Paul's Cathedral has helped us to reach this agreement which can open a new era of practical cooperation between our governments and the Falkland Islanders. This agreement also has the support of the opposition in the Argentine Congress. Yesterday I met four of their representatives who are with us this morning and they are in London as part of a multi-party delegation observing the talks. I had a friendly discussion with them, and in the course of that discussion they impressed on me their broad support for this agreement. It has given me and the Falkland Islanders extra confidence to know that the position taken by the government of Argentina in these talks represents a wide national consensus. This agreement will be good for relations between Britain and Argentina and will also be good for Britain's relations with Argentina's neighbours in Latin America. But most of all it will be good for the Falkland Islanders who can look forward with new confidence in their dealings with Argentina and a new security on the future for themselves and their children. We have found a way in which we can do practical business together. The dialogue between us has produced real concrete benefits, but it has also produced a new climate in our relations. In the long run the greatest gain from this agreement is it marks a change from an era of confrontation to a new chapter of dialogue and cooperation. For its part, Britain commits itself to play its full part in that dialogue, to carry out this agreement and to respect the rights of the Falkland Islanders. Guido di Tella For us it is a very important day, particularly in relations with Great Britain. I think that what is happening, what has happened already, is the evidence of the beginning of an element of trust. It isn't that with trust you do anything you want, but without trust you do nothing. And certainly I am convinced that trust is being born again with the full possibilities that this is creating. Here there are no winners or losers, we are all winning, we are all enhancing the possibilities that the South Atlantic offers us. Question Some people see this as the beginning of the end of sovereignty. What would you say to that? Foreign Secretary There is nothing whatsoever in this agreement that compromises the position either of Britain or of Argentina in relation to sovereignty. What this agreement does though is show that we have managed our disagreements on sovereignty in a way that has enabled us to make practical agreements between us and to carry forward the practical business that inevitably arises between the Falkland Islanders and the immediate neighbour on the Latin American mainland. We have got out of this practical measures that will be to the benefit of both sides, and that includes the Falkland Islanders. But nothing here compromises either our position on sovereignty, or for that matter the position of the government of Argentina. Question I understand that in the Falkland Islands, although you have emphasised that the agreement has the backing of the Councillors who have been involved in these talks, there is a good deal of opposition to this on the grounds that the elected representatives of the Falkland Islanders are moving too far and too fast. Have you any concerns about a sort of democratic deficit, a lack of support in the place where it really matters for what you have agreed here today? Foreign Secretary First of all, can I say there is no democratic deficit on the Falkland Islands. It is a small and intimate community which elects its own Council. On that Council there has only been one dissenting voice. The great overwhelming majority of the Islands Councillors are in support of this agreement and many of them have been involved in negotiating this agreement. Secondly, yes there have been some on the Falkland Islands who have rejected this agreement. Our understanding, and very firmly the understanding of the Council as well, is that they represent very much a minority view within the Falkland Islands. Of course people are entirely at liberty, that is an important part of their freedom as citizens of British territory, to express their view, but I would appeal to all those who have a view to express to do so legitimately, without violence and without intimidation which is not acceptable on the Falkland Islands or anywhere else. One of the other points that I should make is that, of course, to be fair to people on the Falkland Islands they also have not had a chance to see the full agreement, indeed the full agreement was only finalised early this morning. I hope that when that full agreement becomes known throughout the Falkland Islands it will meet the concerns of some of those who have expressed anxiety, particularly when they undertand that this does not touch in any way on the question of sovereignty and that it offers real practical benefits which are important to them and to their families. Question Do you have the concurrence of the Chilean government for the resumption of the flights, and weren't these flights suspended due to issues which don't relate to British-Argentine relations? Guido di Tella We have talked with the Chileans and they have said that they would concur to make possible everything that we have signed here this morning. Question The Falkland Islands are British territory and Britain is keen on a good relationship with Argentina. How comfortable has Britain been that for the past few years Argentines have been unable to come to a part of Britain? Foreign Secretary That is not the reason for this agreement. This agreement arises because we want to take the tension out of relations between the Falkland Islands and Argentina which remains its largest and most immediate neighbour. We have good relations with Argentina, but this is not about us fostering our good relations with Argentina, this is about us assisting in making sure that the Falkland Islanders can have a secure future and can have services that are going to be of benefit to them. And I do want to record here that the driving force in these negotiations have been the Falkland Islands Councillors. It was they who approached us in order to set up this particular round of talks, it is they who have come to those talks with their own proposals and their own ideas and I want to pay tribute very much to the creative input they have had. Question The publication of the Overseas Territories White Paper in March heralded a new age for more modern territories, a more modern spirit. Is it a coincidence that this is happening within three months of that? Foreign Secretary Well I don't know whether it is coincidence or causative, but it is certainly the case that this government has given great attention to its overseas territories and one of the first things we are seeking to do is to rename them from dependent territories because most of them, and this includes the Falkland Islands, most certainly are not dependent. We do give great priority to making sure that we serve the interest of the overseas territories and I personally would regard our commitment to these talks, the arrangements we have made for them, the patience we have shown in taking them through, and the successful agreement as a success of our commitment to our overseas territories. Crown Copyright - Source : www.fco.gov.uk
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