Lord Cameron has been declared “persona non grata” by a chatty Argentine political leader after he landed in the Falklands and warned that British sovereignty of the islands is “not up for discussion”.
Gustavo Melella, governor of the South American country’s southernmost province of Tierra del Fuego, said the foreign secretary was not welcome anywhere in his region after a rant accusing him of a “new British provocation” with his visit to the Falklands.
Melella, criticized by Jeremy Clarkson and his Top Gear team after they were forced to flee Argentina in 2014 following a dispute over his provocative Porsche number plate, reacted when the former prime minister said he hoped the islanders would want to remain British.” forever” after visiting the Falklands War. battle sites.
Distancing himself from the more conciliatory tone of the Argentine government on the disputed territory – and referring to the Malvinas as the Malvinas, which is the name given to the islands in Spanish-speaking countries – the Buenos Aires-born politician became furious: “The David Cameron’s presence in our Falkland Islands represents a new British provocation that seeks to undermine our legitimate sovereign rights over our territories and sustain colonialism in the 21st century.
“We are not going to allow it.”
Lord David Cameron walks through Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. Photo date: Monday February 19, 2024
Lord David Cameron (right) arrives at Mount Pleasant air base in the Falkland Islands
Lord David Cameron (right) attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Falklands conflict memorial in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, during his high-profile visit to show they are a ‘valuable part of the family British” amid renewed Argentine calls for talks on its future
Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron visits St Charles Cemetery in the Falkland Islands
Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Falklands conflict memorial in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands.
Gustavo Melella (center), governor of the South American country’s southernmost province of Tierra del Fuego, said the foreign secretary was not welcome anywhere in his region.
Melella proceeded to declare David Cameron ‘Persona Non Grata throughout the entire territorial extension of our province’
Insisting that the Malvinas belonged to Argentina by “history and law”, he continued: “No colonial representative of a State that threatens our territorial integrity by staining the memory and eternal sacrifice of our Malvinas heroes will be welcome in our province.”
Melella, the first openly gay person elected provincial governor in Argentina, ended his tirade on
Falkland Islands politician Gavin Short reacted by urging the Tierra del Fuego leader in a swift response: “Keep an eye on your blood pressure or you may provoke a fume attack – and turn down your screeching while I’m trying to Get some sleep here in the free Falklands.
He continued and added: ‘Also, how do you declare a person ‘persona non grata’ in a country that is not their own and over which you have no control? I’m just asking for a friend. Best wishes from the free Falklands.’
His angry words contrasted sharply with those of Argentina’s central government: a spokesperson for the country’s Foreign Office said in a brief statement: “The UK can support the islanders’ right to self-determination and maintain a good relationship with Argentina, in which we agree to disagree on sovereignty but cooperate constructively in areas of shared interest.’
Argentine government sources told the respected newspaper Clarín that they hoped David Cameron was conveying a “positive vision” of the country’s new right-wing government and the “political will of both countries to establish a closer and more constructive dialogue.”
Lord David Cameron visits a museum in Goose Green in the Falkland Islands
Cameron (centre) meets local people at St Charles Cemetery in the Falkland Islands, during his high-profile visit.
Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron visits St Charles Cemetery in the Falkland Islands
Lord Cameron’s visit is the first by a Foreign Secretary since 1994 and he has stressed that the archipelago’s sovereignty is “not… subject to discussion”.
Melella was mayor of the southern Argentine city of Rio Grande when Jeremy Clarkson upset locals by driving a Porsche with the license plate H982 FKL.
Argentine veterans of the Falklands War claimed it referred to the 1982 conflict.
Clarkson and fellow Top Gear presenters Richard Hammond and James May fled their hotel in nearby Ushuaia after the lobby was invaded by angry ex-servicemen who told them to leave “or face the consequences”.
The trio flew to the capital Buenos Aires before returning to Britain.
Nearly 30 other members of the film crew were stoned as they headed to Chile by road and had to abandon Clarkson’s Porsche and the other two cars on the side of the road.
Melella promised at the time to make an official protest outside the British embassy in Argentina, saying: “We are peace-loving people, but they have generated the initial violence by coming to our country in the way they have.”
Jeremy Clarkson responded by claiming that the violent protest was “organised by the State” and accused people like Melella of exploiting Top Gear’s visit for “political capital”, and insisted that the controversial number plate was an “incredible coincidence” and I didn’t offend. It had been the intention.
Lord Cameron’s visit to the Falkland Islands is the first by a Cabinet member since then Defense Secretary Sir Michael Fallon’s trip in 2016.
The last visit by a Foreign Secretary was that of Lord Hurd in 1994.
He will travel to Paraguay later today, becoming the first Foreign Minister to visit the country.
Last month, Lord Cameron met Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei, for the first time since the right-winger’s landslide victory in the South American country’s presidential runoff in November.
The politicians met at the Davos summit in Switzerland.