Talk:Falkland Islands/Archive 20

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"Argentina reasserted its right to sovereignty over the Falkland Islands"

I think this phrase is a bit dodgy - "Argentina reasserted its right to sovereignty over the Falkland Islands" - for me this (unintentionally, I presume) says that Argentina has a right to sovereignty which it chose to reassert. "Argentina reasserted its claim of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands" instead? Khendon (talk) 21:06, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

I think your suggestion for improvement is good, but disapprove of your premises. From the Argentine perspective, they have a right to the sovereignty of the islands. The idea behind the word was neither unintentional nor erroneous.
The reason I agree with changing "right" to "claim" is because the latter makes more sense. In 1945, Argentina reasserted its claim. However, their "right" to the islands has been upheld by them since 1816, in the same way the UK has upheld its rights to them since the times of Byron.
Best regards.--MarshalN20 | Talk 23:11, 11 December 2012 (UTC)
I was about to say something similar. It's a claim from the British POV and it's a right from the Argentinian POV. What do you say we just take out the conflicting wording?: " That year, Argentina reasserted its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and its dependencies (primarily South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands)". Regards. Gaba p (talk) 23:34, 11 December 2012 (UTC)
That works for me, too. (I suppose it doesn't really matter, but what I was saying about the original wording was that it asserted the Argentine view as fact - it was equivalent to saying "Argentina had a right to sovereignty which it chose to reassert" rather than "Argentina believed it had a right to sovereignty, which it chose to reassert". Both sides have claims; from a NPOV neither can be said to have rights) Khendon (talk) 07:09, 12 December 2012 (UTC)
"Argentina reasserted its sovereignty" wouldn't work. A key part of sovereignty is control, of which Argentina has none, whether or not it has the right to. I agree with Marshal that claim makes more sense, as their claim is based on the argument that they have been the rightful sovereign since independence. CMD (talk) 07:32, 12 December 2012 (UTC)
I agree with CMD. The sequence "claim", "assert", "prove" each has a stronger meaning than its predecessor. In a mathematical proof, I first assert something - for example Pythagoras asserted that "a2 = b2 + c2" and then went ahead to prove it. As CMD rightly says, in the key to sovereignty is "proving" it - who controls the poliuce force, who controls the courts etc. Martinvl (talk) 07:57, 12 December 2012 (UTC)
Fair enough, I find it acceptable too. Regards everybody. Gaba p (talk) 12:40, 12 December 2012 (UTC)

Although "reasserted its claim of sovereignty" is acceptable, it is unacceptable that we remove the expression "right to sovereignty" on the grounds that we would be expressing that Argentina has a right, while leaving in place the expression "the UK increased its focus on the Islanders' right to self-determination" a paragraph later. We would be then effectively saying (under Khendon's view, which I find understandable) that the islanders have a right to self-determination, something that some secondary sources cast doubts on.

We should leave both as they are, or change both of them. Otherwise we are standing away from NPOV, effectively backing British claim (again, under Khendon's view). --Langus (t) 18:19, 13 December 2012 (UTC)

I've reverted the article to the state that it was when Marshall implemented it from the sandbox, maintaining the typo fixing and uncontested copy editing. You can check this in this version comparison. Regards. --Langus (t)

Not quite, Marshall made the change for a good logical reason. At the start of the section we write that both Britain and Argentina maintain a claim. I've partially restored Marshall's change - we not that Argentina disputes the islanders right to self-determination, so no we're not giving preference to any claim. However, if we leave right we appear to give more credence to Argentina's claim as "right". Wee Curry Monster talk 19:20, 13 December 2012 (UTC)
Well, I disagree. Falklander's self-determination is also a "right". You're pushing a POV by stepping away from Argentina's view while presenting the British one as a fact, knowing that it is contested.
We agreed to that version in the sandbox, Wee... I hope you're not turning this into an edit war all over again. --Langus (t) 01:52, 14 December 2012 (UTC)
The "right" is used in a different way in each case. The right to Argentinian sovereignty is the end-point of the argument, whereas the right to self-determination is part of the argument for British sovereignty, not the argument itself. Equivalent would perhaps be the right of Argentina to former spanish territory. CMD (talk) 04:20, 14 December 2012 (UTC)
I agree with CMD its not equivalent in the way its used, which is what I tried to explain. And no I'm not pushing a POV and I'm tired of that accusation from a perennial POV pusher like yourself. The British position is not presented as fact, the article notes its contested. Yes I agreed to it at the time, my exact comment "Largely acceptable to me", ie it could be improved and after listening to feedback I agreed. As to your comment about edit warring, no I didn't revert I changed one word and explained why in the talk page. Obviously convincing as someone else reverted you. Notice an emerging pattern. Wee Curry Monster talk 12:21, 14 December 2012 (UTC)
I've made a slight change to the article. I believe the words right and claim are loaded in this context because they bear a true or false meaning and we should try to stay away from them whenever possible. Tell me what you think. Regards. Gaba p (talk) 13:01, 14 December 2012 (UTC)
"Position of..." is fine by me. — Jon C.ॐ 13:24, 14 December 2012 (UTC)
The sentence doesn't make sense with "position of", which if it reads as if X has reasserted a position of sovereignty, such as the UK (purely coincidental example) asserting control over the Turks and Caicos government. There's no reason to avoid the word claim. Everyone claims something or other, and in this case especially, it was the claim is the item that is being reasserted. Argentina claimed sovereignty. It began to pursue it. There's no true/false dichotomy here. CMD (talk) 16:24, 14 December 2012 (UTC)
the word "claim" is like the word "pregnancy" - either it is or it isn't. Both the United Kingdom and Argentia are making claims about the de jure position of the islands - the de facto position is that they are British. Martinvl (talk) 17:59, 14 December 2012 (UTC)

I agree that both sides have their claims. The issue was not that I believe, but the fact that a couple of lines below we were presenting the UK claim of the islanders right to self-determination as a fact. I've edited the article to reflect this, I think its more balanced now. Regards. Gaba p (talk) 19:17, 14 December 2012 (UTC)

As you demanded an explanation, even though I gave you an informative edit summary. You were reverted because your edit bastardised the grammar of the sentence, it was the incorrect use of the English language and rather than seeking to improve the article you were indulging in a rather silly tit for tat exchange over a none existent neutrality issue. Wee Curry Monster talk 21:18, 14 December 2012 (UTC)

Wee, if you are telling me I'm incorrectly using the English language I'd ask you to please write what the correct form of that sentence would be according to you, instead of simply reverting and then writing a comment saying pretty much nothing. Regards. Gaba p (talk) 21:23, 14 December 2012 (UTC)
There is nothing wrong with the original sentence and you know it, you're indulging in a childish tit for tat exchange for a none existent neutrality issue. Will someone please revert it, I'm not going to edit war with someone revert warring for no good reason. Thanks. Wee Curry Monster talk 21:38, 14 December 2012 (UTC)
Wee, you are still not telling me what your problem is with the grammar of the sentence. In what way am I "bastardizing" the English language if I may ask? Would you be more comfortable with "As a result, the UK focused its claim on the Islanders' right to self-determination"? I believe it's also an acceptable form for the sentence, unless you consider this one an "incorrect use of the English language" too. Could I ask you once again to please instruct me what the correct form of the current sentence would be in proper English? Regards. Gaba p (talk) 21:43, 14 December 2012 (UTC)
I can understand why Gaba and Langus feel uncomfortable with the usage of the term "right" in the third paragraph. However, I do not agree with their argument behind it.
Removing "right" is a good proposal because it makes the sentence shorter and, thereby, easier to understand. The meaning of the sentence is the same with or without it. In that sense, Langus and Gaba are making a good suggestion. I think we should follow it.
Regarding Gaba's sentence change, there I completely agree with Wee. Adding more text makes the sentence more difficult to understand.
I hope everyone can agree on this change. Regards.--MarshalN20 | Talk 22:54, 14 December 2012 (UTC)

The difference is that we refer to an Argentinian position as a claim and we never do so with the UK's similar claim to the islanders self-determination. Four times we mention the Argentinian position as a claim:

  • Argentina reasserted its claim to sovereignty over the Falkland Islands..
  • In 2007, Argentina reasserted its claim over the Falkland Islands..
  • Modern Falkland Islanders continue to reject the Argentine sovereignty claim..
  • Argentina claims that, in 1833...

and not once do we refer to the UK's position as a claim. This is not balanced, we should make it clear that the UK's position is also based on claims, much like the Argentinian position is. I believe the best place to do so (at least one time in the entire section) is in the third paragraph. This is what I propose:

  • As a result, the UK focused its claim on the Islanders' self-determination..

This way we can bring at least a bit more balance to the section. Regards. Gaba p (talk) 23:31, 14 December 2012 (UTC)

The phrase "sovereignty claim" is a specific legal term. Please see the following GoogleBooks search ([1]). Nothing wrong is meant by it.
The only time the word "claim" is used as an argument/position is in your last example ("Argentina claims that, in 1833...").
If you really would like to use the word "claim" with regards to the UK, there is a certain 1849-1850 treaty which the UK claims as evidence that Argentina agreed to forfeit the islands to Britain. We could place this information as the second paragraph of the section, thereby filling in the gap between 1816 to 1945.
Best regards.--MarshalN20 | Talk 23:47, 14 December 2012 (UTC)
Why do you feel it couldn't be used in the example I gave? The islanders' right to self-determination is also a claim. The UK claims it applies while Argentina claims it does not. I think the sentence "As a result, the UK focused its claim on the Islanders' self-determination.." is quite simple to understand and it makes it clear that the UK's position is a claim as much as the Argentinian position is. Regards. Gaba p (talk) 00:19, 15 December 2012 (UTC)
The sentence you propose is confusing. We could also change the part: "The UK bases its position..." (second sentence in first paragraph) to "The UK bases its claim...". Regards.--MarshalN20 | Talk 00:28, 15 December 2012 (UTC)
Specific instances aside, it's not surprising or unexpected that Argentina appears near the word "claim" more than the UK does, nor is it unbalanced. The UK actually controls the territory, so its claim is a reality, and not really referred to as such. The same pattern is seen with most disputed territories, Guyana isn't said to claim Guayana Esequiba for example, whereas Venezuela is. CMD (talk) 02:45, 15 December 2012 (UTC)
I find Marshal's proposal acceptable, so I'll go ahead and make the edit. Not mentioning even once the word claim near UK and mentioning it several times near Argentina is not acceptable and fails NPOV. Regards. Gaba p (talk) 16:09, 17 December 2012 (UTC)
Marshall already made changes that were broadly acceptable to all. Will you stop making unnecessary conflict where none exists, I've reverted that pointless change. Wee Curry Monster talk 16:26, 17 December 2012 (UTC)
Please stop making edits that go against what is agreed on the talk page Wee. The current version is perfectly fine, we all know why you are against the use of claim regarding the UK claim but your personal POV isn't a valid reason to oppose an edit and you know it. Regards. Gaba p (talk) 18:34, 18 December 2012 (UTC)

Wee is now edit warring and trying to get me to break the 3RR by removing the word claim Marshal proposed and I accepted. Since he refuses to give a valid reason as to why that word should not be used when it is actually used a couple of paragraphs below regarding the Argentinian position, I'll remove it from the Argentinian position as well. We either use it for both parties or we use it for none. You are shamefully pushing the British POV here Wee, I'd advice you to stop. Regards. Gaba p (talk) 19:31, 20 December 2012 (UTC)

I am not pushing any POV, and you have broken 3rr, you,be reverted to an earlier text. You're pushing POV in the most childish way possible. I'd welcome someone else reverting it as this guy is just being disruptive and wp:point. Wee Curry Monster talk 19:44, 20 December 2012 (UTC)
Pretty serious false equals here.
First, the two points are different because the two states are in different places with respect to the islands. Britain has what it wants, it doesn't need to claim anything. If Argentina doesn't claim, it doesn't get.
Second, we might note that you're equating the entire British position on the entire dispute on one hand, with a single (inaccurate) historical claim about a point of fact made by the Argentine government on the other. The two points are not the same here either.
Ultimately, it is appropriate to use different terminology because we're describing the same thing. This notion that something that applies to one necessarily applies to the other, even where the situations are different, is not neutral and thus inappropriate. Kahastok talk 20:26, 20 December 2012 (UTC)
Kahastok, the point you and Wee are trying to introduce by force in the article is that the word claim is needed when referring the Argentinian position and not needed when referring the UK position. That my friend is pro-British POV pushing. Both parties are claiming something in this dispute and it is not neutral nor balanced to referr only to the Argentinian position as a claim. The fact that the islanders have the "right to self-determination" is indeed a UK claim since Argentina disputes it. You and Wee are teaming to forcibly hide this fact and this is not acceptable.
"Britain has what it wants, it doesn't need to claim anything". What do you call the islanders supposed "right to self-determination" if not a British claim?
If your problem is that I'm "equating the entire British position on the entire dispute on one hand, with a single (inaccurate <--POV) historical claim" then I'll go ahead and correctly introduce the word claim regarding solely the self-determination part. I hope this is enough to ease your concerns. Regards. Gaba p (talk) 23:59, 20 December 2012 (UTC)
Like I wrote recently, "Britain has possession including exercise of sovereignty and jurisdiction, which is rather more than a mere claim." Readers should not be mislead to believe that the actual standings of Argentina and the UK vis-à-vis the Falklands are somehow equalized, somehow aligned by the use of 'claim' in both cases. Apcbg (talk) 05:32, 21 December 2012 (UTC)
Please see my last edit which I believe presents no such problems. It should be clear in the article that the islanders' right to self-determination is in fact a British claim since Argentina completely disputes it. This is what my edit reflects right now. Regards. Gaba p (talk) 18:35, 21 December 2012 (UTC)
Third parties are irrelevant to the self-determination of people whom they do not administer (as in UN's 'administering powers'). People exercise their right to self-determination, like Belize or Guyana did, regardless of third parties possible sovereignty claims; if there are such claims then they are inherited by the newly independent nation like those two countries did.
By the way, Britain does not and cannot 'claim' the Falklander right to self-determination; it's the Islanders that claim that right, and it's Britain that recognizes that right as administering power, which is the recognition they need. Third parties may have claims before and after. However, self determination relates to actual possession and exercise of sovereignty and jurisdiction — not to claims. Apcbg (talk) 19:23, 22 December 2012 (UTC)
  • I have been asked to discuss here by Gaba p. I have reverted his latest edit to the article for several reasons:
  1. I do not subscribe to the idea that the sentence is horribly biased. I don't think there's any drastic need for a change of any kind.
  2. The idea that the islanders' right to self-determination is a concept cooked up by the UK government is nonsense - self-determination is a universal right recognised by the UN. To argue otherwise is to argue that the Argentine government has the authority to force the islanders to admit they are Argentinian. The Argentine claim is actually that the islanders' right to self-determination is irrelevant or unjust.
  3. Adding more words to an already cluttered sentence in the pursuit of pedantic political correctness is not productive. The sentence is clear as it is.
  4. Moreover, we do not need to represent the situation as entirely (regardless of whether or not it should be) because, frankly, it isn't an equal situation. The UK government is in possession of the islands and isn't relying on "claims" for anything. This has already been pointed out. Basalisk inspect damage⁄berate 18:54, 21 December 2012 (UTC)
I've changed the sentence to The UK bases its position on continuous administration of the islands since 1833 (apart from 1982) and the islanders having a "right to self determination, including their right to remain British if that is their wish" - it's concise and the quotation marks make it implicitly clear that it's a UK view. Khendon (talk) 20:14, 21 December 2012 (UTC)

An observation rather than particularly agreeing or disagreeing with any person or argument: as far as I can see, everybody agrees that the "right to self-determination" exists; Argentina disputes that the right applies to the islanders (on the grounds that (they claim) they took the territory by force). Is that correct? Khendon (talk) 19:57, 21 December 2012 (UTC)

Khendon: you got it absolutely right. Argentina does not dispute the existence of such a right, it disputes that the islanders do not have that right being an implanted population. The islanders' right to s-d is a UK claim (a disputed one) and this should be made clear in the article.
Basalisk:
  1. That is a matter of taste and we can agree or not, that's irrelevant.
  2. This is incorrect. As I (and Khendon) pointed out Argentina does not recognize the islanders' right to s-d, not the whole concept of such right.
  3. What you call pedantic political correctness I call a balanced article. The fact that the islanders having such right is disputed (and thus a UK claim) is information terribly important for this article and should be mentioned. We already point out that Argentina has claims, we should also point out that the UK has claims. This is one of them.
  4. Agreed, that's why I added claim only to this bit of the UK claim. We already refer to the Argentinian position as a claim several times in that section. The fact that the UK is currently in possession of the islands does not mean it's position is not based on claims.
Finally, I like Khendon's proposal and would have no problem leaving it as is. Regards. Gaba p (talk) 02:37, 22 December 2012 (UTC)
It's does not make for a balanced article to refer to two non-parallel situations as though they are parallel. Such a position is biased and as such inappropriate. Kahastok talk 18:45, 22 December 2012 (UTC)

I shall add: it is not an "Argentine claim" that the right to self-determination doesn't apply to every human being. The contradiction with the principle of territorial integrity is explored by many secondary, reliable sources: just google self determination vs territorial integrity. Sorry if I'm offending any Falklander reading this, but that's the situation in the scholar world right now. --Langus (t) 02:14, 24 December 2012 (UTC)

It is an Argentine claim, Argentina claims the territory and argues that its territorial integrity has been disrupted. In 2008 Spain and Argentina sponsored a GA resolution effectively removing the right to self-determination in cases where there was a territorial dispute. Not only did it fail but the resolution which carried held self-determination to be a universal and fundamental right. [2]. Wee Curry Monster talk 10:33, 24 December 2012 (UTC)
"Argentina claims the territory and argues that its territorial integrity has been disrupted" --> true
"It is not an "Argentine claim" that the right to self-determination doesn't apply to every human being" --> also true
I apologize but Wikipedia prefers scholar sources over your opinion, Wee. --Langus (t) 16:45, 24 December 2012 (UTC)
Wee and Kahastok: could you clarify to me what exactly are you arguing about now? Do you have a problem with the current state of the article? If so please be specific as to which part is problematic to you, please. Regards. Gaba p (talk) 16:57, 24 December 2012 (UTC)

Hotel du Lac Discussions/99 Year Lease back

Can someone add in a balanced view of existing information on Wikipedia - regarding the discussions that took place between Nicholas Ridley and the Argentine Government?

This is already documented in the profile of Nicholas Ridley - re: 99 Year Lease back ideas. It is something that Michael Heseltine has also alluded to in previous comments, which are in the UK Public domain.

Can some comparisons also be drawn from the negotiations over Hong Kong as well, re 99 Year lease back ideas. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.254.158.148 (talk) 15:33, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

Independent opinion requested

Today I added this link [3], in support of a claim that the remaining mines in the Falklands were those laid by Argentine forces. Gaba p claims this does not support that claim. I request an independent opinion of whether this is the case or not. If an independent editor finds I am correct I request that the tag be removed. Wee Curry Monster talk 23:26, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

"omitting to add that the mines were laid by Argentine Forces" seems clear enough to me. CMD (talk) 05:45, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
Were they? I thought those mines were planted by the evil Mrs. Thatcher herself, and the 1982 invasion was part of an Argentine demining effort :-) Apcbg (talk) 07:13, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
The link does not state how many of those were laid by Argentine forces while you (Wee) claim that it supports the claim that the full amount (~19000) are Argentine. The first source [4] says "most" of the 19000 were laid by Argentina, not all of them. My edit reflected the first source, nothing more, and the source Wee added does not support the claim that all 19000 mines are Argentinian.
I'd like to request to whoever took down the tag to please re-instate it or find a better source or re-phrase the sentence as I had done.
Apcbg your "comic" commentary says a lot about your position on this issue. I suggest you be more careful next time. Regards. Gaba p (talk) 22:26, 5 January 2013 (UTC)

Incorrect.

Currently the statement reads:

In 1770, Spain attacked Port Egmont and expelled the British presence

No they didn't five Spanish ships arrived and the British capitulated to a superior force. There as no attack. As the inline link (Capture of Port Egmont) has never been added to the line to the actual article about the event, no wonder this page is blocked to people with a brain because the statement is frankly ridiculous.

The British at best retreated from Port Egmont through a show of force by a Spanish fleet there was no attack! If any of you so-called "editors" actually did your jobs instead bickering over whether it was "a gourd or a shoe" these errors would not be so glaring. 86.157.50.41 (talk) 13:58, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

There was an interchange of gunfire, so it isn't incorrect to refer to it as an attack. However, if in doubt we could search for expressions used in reliable, secondary sources. --Langus (t) 16:10, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
Link added. CMD (talk) 16:45, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

Information on landmines: new information removed; outdated information left.

I noticed that one of my edits was deleted because of excessive detail. Fair enough, but the more recent information was cut and the older information was left unmodified. This is a pity because clearing of landmines reduced the affected area by more than 27%. Perhaps we could work out something that could be both short enough for a summary and up-to-date. I suggest summarising the older information and pointing out the extent of the clean-up (13km2 to less than 10 km2) Michael Glass (talk) 08:04, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

How about simply replacing the older information with the current situation? CMD (talk) 08:38, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

If this began with a brief description of the demining operation over the last couple of years I think that would be fine. Michael Glass (talk) 10:56, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

I agree with Michael, we need to update the info. And I agree with Chipmunkdavis' suggestion of simply replacing it. --Langus (t) 16:14, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
I agree with Micheal that the information needs updating, but I don't think that it should just be replaced - there should be a sentence to show that things are not static and that minefields are actually being cleared. Martinvl (talk) 16:21, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
I'm sure that it can be made clear that the mines are being gradually removed with very few words. In the meantime, if there's any information that's not included at Falklands War#Minefields, it'd be useful to add it there. CMD (talk) 16:47, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
I support Michael's edit which I find much more accurate than the previous one. Regards. Gaba p (talk) 22:29, 5 January 2013 (UTC)

Here is my edit:

  • In 2011 a Falkland Islands councillor stated, "The safe removal of 20,000 anti-personnel mines and 5,000 anti-tank mines spread over 13 sq km in 117 locations in highly variable terrain is an onerous task." land mines[1] Information is available from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Operation Centre in Stanley.[2] In 2009 mine clearance began at Surf Bay, and clearances took place at Sapper Hill, Goose Green and Fox Bay. Further clearance work was due to begin in 2011.[3] In December 2012, Landmine monitor claimed that land mines from the 1982 war remain spread across an area of more than 9 square kilometres.[2]

The present wording says:

  • It is believed that 19,000 Argentine land mines[4] across an area of 13 square kilometres remain from the 1982 war dispersed in a number of minefields around Stanley, Port Howard, Fox Bay and Goose Green.[2]

As my edit was criticised for being too long and detailed, and the present wording has been criticised for being out of date, perhaps the following would suffice:

  • In 2011 a Falkland Islands councillor stated that safely removing 20,000 anti-personnel mines and 5,000 anti-tank mines spread over 13 sq km in 117 locations was "an onerous task."[5] In 2009 mine clearance began, with further clearance work due to begin in 2011.[6] In December 2012, Landmine Monitor stated that land mines from the 1982 war remain spread across an area of more than 9 square kilometres.[2]

Any suggestions or revision? The information in [5] may also be useful. Michael Glass (talk) 01:19, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

Any particular reason you don't wish to mention where they came from? Oh and I suggest you revise the proposed edit inline with WP:MOSNUM and WP:FALKLANDSUNITS. Wee Curry Monster talk 20:29, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

No problem, provided we can quote a reliable source in support of the fact that these are Argentinian or UK land mines. I suggest you put up your revisions, here. Michael Glass (talk) 20:53, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

I have now found a citation used in the Falklands War article. It supports the fact that the minefields were laid by the Argentinians. Michael Glass (talk) 22:17, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

The statement by a councillor expressing the view that removing mines is not easy does not belong on this article. How does something like "During the Falklands War over 20,000 anti-personnel mines and 5,000 anti-tank mines were laid by Argentina in 117 locations spread over 13 sq km.[7][8] Clearance was begun in 2009,[9] with over 9 square kilometres remaining mined.[2]" look? (with units adjusted and all that) CMD (talk) 14:16, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

Latest British ruido de sables

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/falklandislands/9797902/Defence-chiefs-prepare-new-plans-to-defend-Falkland-Islands.html

Which section does this Saber noise go under? Hcobb (talk) 12:56, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

It doesn't per WP:NOTNEWS. You might like also to refer to WP:WEIGHT and WP:NPOV noting the numerous provocative moves made by Argentina lately, the article you refer to reflects that this is a response to Argentina escalating tension not the other way around. Wee Curry Monster talk 13:00, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Analysis of the 2012 Falkland Islands Census

This analysis of the 2012 census results could be a useful resource. I wanted to share it with you. --Langus (t) 16:19, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

=== Official source? The Falkland Islands' governments' web site (http://www.falklands.gov.fk/) gives the population as 2,563. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.159.108.58 (talk) 09:08, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

Falklands' Spanish name pronunciation

Moved from Wee Curry Monster's talk page:

"I don't find it so unnecessary that it shouldn't be there in any hypothesis. English speakers may not know that Spanish b/v after ell is kind of an in-between of the two (unlike dee and wye, that are always a denti-alveolar stop [d̪] and a post-alveolar [dʒ] or palatal [ɟʝ ~ ɟj] affricate respectively after ell, but in other circunstances reminds one of an English voiced th or in-between English y and French g), or that Spanish ess assimilates the voice of the following phoneme, unlike the English one that assimilates the voice of the preceding one (so they won't know where to use whether [s] or [z], IF they know Spanish has [z]). Many users like this kind of information; I understand your point, so much that I purposefully reduced the "Spanish pronunciation" tag before the transcription, but still I think it would be good to have it there. Perhaps a footnote using the wikireference code will please both Greeks and Trojans? 177.65.49.210 (talk) 15:58, 28 January 2013 (UTC)

I'm sorry but I seriously doubt the usefulness of the information as, in general, we don't have alternative language names in wikipedia articles. The English wikipedia does have an exception on Falkland's topics. The Spanish article equivalent is linked, so I would imagine its only one mouse click away anyhow and I don't see how that would be different from a footnote. Perhaps the discussion should have been at Talk:Falkland Islands. Un abrazo Wee Curry Monster talk 16:51, 28 January 2013 (UTC)"

Just as you know, I know that much of information because my native language is over much of the world thoroughly confused with Spanish (and it reminds one of it in the aspect of lenition of voiced stops b, d, g - that people say to not exist in Brazil, what is bullshit as the d of anyone I know is almost always a "voiced th" because Brazilian tongues speak in a kinda "relaxed" way, in a way different to that of Spanish-speaking ones, that is why we have denti-alveolar l and n, alveolo-palatal ti, di, x and j, and AFAIK don't have apical pronunciations, the reason the English apical ths, especially the voiceless one, seem a bit awkward to copy for us), it was my second language, and some aspects of Linguistics, especially Iberian languages' phonology, are really very easy to learn for me.

You appear to be very learned in the matter but I would venture to suggest this is too much detail for this article. This isn't information many readers would be able to use and as I said, the Spanish article is a mouse click away. Lets see what other editors think. Wee Curry Monster talk 10:27, 30 January 2013 (UTC)
Thanks. Well, it is the very same IPA used for English. And as Iberian languages have fewer phonemes than English, and our orthographies are many times more phonetic in nature (Standard Portuguese is essentially still "Mediaeval", and dialects of it scattered throughout the world and of minor languages, such as Mirandese, even more, unlike English that by a span of about 300-400 years or so gets to be mutually unintelligible in comparison to its older "version" but conservates orthography AFAIK because of tradition and the lack of a governing Linguistic body that would apply spelling reforms), we don't use IPA in articles of Wikipedias in them for our own native languages (I actually saw this a few times only for English and German names' pronunciation there). It is likely that your average user will search this kind of information in Google, and that is not the purpose of the project (BTW, Wiktionary's phonetic transcription of Spanish and Portuguese is about 5 times poorer than Wikipedia's – e.g. Anglophones can separate syllables of our words in highly unusual, and actually inaccurate, ways, such as creating unexisting codas e.g. at-l[á ~ â]n-ti-co –, I should also be working this on there). 177.65.49.210 (talk) 11:20, 30 January 2013 (UTC)

Remove Spanish Names

The Falkland Islands are British. There is nothing more to say about that. All residents on the island are and want to be British, the islands are owned by Britain, they have British taxes, laws, etc. Because the islands are British, their name shall be in English. The article for the United Kingdom does not have the name 'Royaume-Uni' in French or any other language. The same applies here, the islands are British and shall be named as such without any other foreign languages. I invite any arguments for or against this point, if you could write them directly below. Johnxsmith (talk) 17:01, 7 January 2013 (UTC)

Please read ([6]).
Regards.--MarshalN20 | Talk 00:45, 10 January 2013 (UTC)
That is a stupid naming convention. Even if the islands became Argentinian, in the English language their name will still most likely be the Falklands Islands regardless. Such a naming convention has only one place and that is in the lede of the Falkland Islands article itself and the Falklands War one. Otherwise this is the English language Wikipedia and we shouldn't have to include other language varients of names when the islands are mentioned in an article due to them being disputed. Preposterous nonsense. Mabuska (talk) 14:03, 16 January 2013 (UTC)
I suggest you reread the convention. The rule we apply is that individual islands are only translated in the articles about those particular islands. Except where islands have both names in both ledes and infoboxes (the Spanish name has a special infobox field), or cases where there may be a single article for multiple separately-named islands, no article should have more than one translation. Any individual island mentioned in this article will be named using the English name only. Kahastok talk 23:02, 17 January 2013 (UTC)
"The Falkland Islands (/ˈfɒlklənd/ or /ˈfɔːlklənd/; Spanish: Islas Malvinas)" is misleading, as it makes it look like a official name, or a native name used by a significant part (even a majority) of the population. As "Islas Malvinas" is only relevant here in the context of the sovereignty dispute, it would be better if moved to the second paragraph, maybe after "though the islands continue to be claimed by Argentina". Peter James (talk) 23:16, 23 February 2013 (UTC)

I do agree with this. Firstly, it isn't a translation - it's a completely different name, which happens to be in Spanish. And secondly, using it gives the impression tht Argentina have some form of political ties or say over the Falkands, which isn't true. The name should be mentioned in the article, but I can't see why it's listed in the opening line. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.13.193.5 (talk) 13:10, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

Wikipedia is neutral, neither a puppet of the British nor the Argentineans

It should be mentioned that the Falkland Islands is under the legal jurisdiction of the Tierra del Fuego province of Argentina. Otherwise, people will not know whether it is an Argentine territory, Argentina province, non-provincial city (like Buenos Aries), or what. Afghandeaths (talk) 05:51, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

Although I would not oppose a brief (one or two sentence) mention of this in the "Politics and Government" section (primarily to avoid changing anything from the consensus-attained "Sovereignty Dispute" section), including it in the lead seems like a provocation for Wikiconflict rather than an improvement. And, even then, I think my proposal may be considered too friendly. Regards.--MarshalN20 | Talk 11:56, 6 March 2013 (UTC)
Except that Argentine law carries no weight on the Falklands. So Certainly the article should say that Argentina lists the Falklands as part of the Tierra del Fuego province.Slatersteven (talk) 11:59, 6 March 2013 (UTC)
I would not be opposed to mentioning that Argentina lists the Falklands as part of the Tierra del Fuego province in the sovereignty dispute section. However, to present this as an equivalent to the Falkland Islands Government is not a neutral change per WP:WEIGHT. Mentioning it in the lede is not appropriate for that reason. Wee Curry Monster talk 12:32, 6 March 2013 (UTC)
Agreed, a brief mention in the Sovereignty dispute section would be appropriate. Perhaps something like this?:
What do you think? Regards. Gaba p (talk) 13:28, 6 March 2013 (UTC)
Seems perfect.Slatersteven (talk) 14:08, 6 March 2013 (UTC)
Agree with Gaba p's version. Gets the point across. Basalisk inspect damage⁄berate 14:21, 6 March 2013 (UTC)
I've added the sentence to the mentioned section. I added "From that year on" at the beginning of the sentence so that it would match the ending of the sentence before it. If this is not acceptable for some reason, it can be rearranged. Regards. Gaba p (talk) 19:12, 6 March 2013 (UTC)
I think that the positioning proposed implies that there is some connection between the re-establishment of relations between Britain and Argentina on one hand, and the establishment of Tierra del Fuego province on the other - I don't believe the events are linked. As such, I have moved the point to the end of the paragraph that details Argentina's position, since that point directly deals with Argentina's view of the status of the islands, and I have changed the word "lists" to "considers". Kahastok talk 21:07, 6 March 2013 (UTC)
Very good, I only added the sentence above because that way I could link it with that date but I agree about the implied connection. I just removed a comma that I felt was unnecessary (just a silly style edit, feel free to undue it if you feel otherwise) Regards. Gaba p (talk) 21:15, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

Sovereignty dates to 1690???

A letter in to the Financial Times gives a summary of the sovereignty dispute which is consistent with everything else that I have read. It states quite clearly that the earliest claim to sovereignty was made by the French in 1764 - in 1690 Strong merely named the islands. Martinvl (talk) 15:45, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

What? Are you serious, you challenge a long standing and sourced text on a WP:SPS. Strong not only landed and named but claimed the islands. Wee Curry Monster talk 17:40, 1 February 2013 (UTC)
I believe the issue here (Martinvl please correct me if I'm wrong) is of whether there are sources that attest he actually claimed it, not just landed there. I also point out that www.falklands.info is down (has been for a while) and its reliability is questionable (WP:SPS). Why not find a better reliable source for the statement the he in fact claimed it? Regards. Gaba p (talk) 17:47, 1 February 2013 (UTC)
The FCO wrote "In 1690 John Strong, a British Naval captain, took part in the first recorded landing of the then uninhabited Falkland Islands. He named the Islands after Viscount Falkland, who shortly afterwards became the First Lord of the Admiralty." - Note, no mention of claiming the islands. I found similar postings from FIG, and from the North Dakota State University.
Other sources such as The Guardian, Fabian Society, July 1977 mention John Strong in the same vein and then go on to mention the 1765 settlement. The Merco Press goes on to state "In January 1765 Admiral Byron landed at Saunders Island north of West Falkland and claimed the isles for the crown of Great Britain."
What reliable sources do you have stating that Strong claimed the islands for Britain and that once Strong got back to England that the English Government acknowledged his claim - all the references that I have given, including the FCO and the FIG merely state that he landed there.
Martinvl (talk) 18:29, 1 February 2013 (UTC)
In addition to the above, this source states "In 1765, British captain John Byron explored and claimed Saunders Island on West Falkland, where he named the harbour Port Egmont and a settlement was constructed in 1766.[20] Unaware of the French presence, Byron claimed the island group for King George III." I trust that User:Wee Curry Monster will now revert his last change and bring the lede back into alignment with the body of the artcile. Martinvl (talk) 19:20, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

Regardless of what controversial fact is claimed by one or the other party, you have to agree there's no need to start including claims in the lede... it will easily get out of hands. --Langus (t) 00:50, 2 February 2013 (UTC)

Strong claimed the islands in 1690 for the English crown, Byron later did so for the United Kingdom. That said, I agree with Langus that a tit for tat exchange of claims in the lede is unwarranted. The point remains though that we don't change things on the basis of an WP:SPS in this case a letter just because its published. The only exception would an acknoweldged expert commenting on his area of expertise. Wee Curry Monster talk 13:23, 3 February 2013 (UTC)
Here are my 2 cents although I consider it a lost cause to aim for some decent amount of neutrality in the Falklands/Malvinas articles in Wikipedia. I never saw proof of Strong claiming the islands. What the record shows is that he landed, explored a bit, replenished and named Cape Farewell and Falkland Sound. Not the islands, though they borrow the latter name. Such acts would create an inchoate right anyway, more precisely a privilege against competing pretensions, if they were followed by a will to possess emanating from the English or British authorities and an effective occupation, meaning one that involves a permanent settlement with improvement of the land and some kind of authority exercising acts of government in the crown's name. But that didn't happen within reasonable time as required by international law, which diminishes the importance of the details of Strong's landing.
Anyway, as I understand it, if editors make a claim such as saying that Strong did this or that, the burden of proof falls on them, not on the ones questioning it. The website falklands.info is definitely not a reliable source given the requirements of a controversial subject such as Falklands/Malvinas. The same happens with other sources used throughout this and related articles in Wikipedia. There are many better sources to use which, for example, concur with the version that I offer above relating Strong's landing. You can read from historical ones describing Strong's actions and not mentioning a claim, like FitzRoy's and an excerpt of Strong's journal, as well as modern secondary sources of diverse political inclinations, including Lawrence Freedman's (Official UK Historian for the Falklands Campaign) when he writes 'Britain can claim the first recorded landing, on 27 January 1690, by Captain John Strong of the Royal Navy, from the Welfare. It was he who named the sound between the eastern and western islands, Falkland', with no mention of sovereignty proclaims. Andrés Djordjalian (talk) 23:40, 16 March 2013 (UTC)

Recent poll result

Does anyone plan on adding mention of this to the Sovereignty dispute section? I feel it's notable. Thanksツ Jenova20 (email) 11:00, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

It's already mentioned. Regards. Gaba (talk) 11:20, 13 March 2013 (UTC)
Right you are. Thanks for the quick response ツ Jenova20 (email) 12:19, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

I've copy edited the sentence on Argentina to simply state that Argentina rejected the referendum. To state in Wikipedia's voice that Kirchner stated the referendum was illegal under international law does not comply with WP:NPOV. If that were the case, and it isn't, a neutral commentator's comment would be needed and we would need to reflect the range of opinions in the literature. This was a classic example of abusing the use of quotes to make a political POV statement in a wikipedia article. Wee Curry Monster talk 12:32, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

I've added that Argentina dismissed the referendum considering it illegal, as stated in the source. It's important to mention why that country dismissed it. Regards. Gaba (talk) 17:51, 14 March 2013 (UTC)
Why? The only reason for putting that into the article is to use the article as a WP:SOAPBOX, we have no statements from British politicians on the significance of the referendum for example. There is no basis for the claim made, your wording was WP:WEASEL wording to introduce a claim made without basis in law. We explain the simple facts nothing more. Argentina rejected the referendum before a single vote was cast. Wee Curry Monster talk 18:17, 14 March 2013 (UTC)
Wee, we are mentioning the reason why the country decided to dismiss the referendum. It is important to note that Argentina regarded the referendum as illegal because: 1- it is an indisputable fact and 2- it improves the article providing sourced and relevant information. Your opinion that said claim "has no basis" is irrelevant. This is the second time you remove this fact from the article and I'd appreciate if you could please self rv (also accusations of "soapboxing" and "weasel wording" are not helpful) Regards. Gaba (talk) 19:10, 14 March 2013 (UTC)
No I will not self-revert. You were stating an opinion not a fact.
What principle in law was cited? Answer: None. Ergo it was a statement made without foundation. Equally it is simply your opinion that it is important. It doesn't actually improve the article, it introduces bias by providing a platform for a political statement.
You ignore the very basic point no one feels a need to refer to any statement made by British leaders, or that we simply need to state the very basic facts in a summary. I would appreciate if for once you would actually address a point made to you, rather than ignoring it. Simply asserting it to be my opinion doesn't make it go away. Wee Curry Monster talk 19:32, 14 March 2013 (UTC)
Once again Wee: that statement mentions the reason Argentina dismissed the referendum. That Argentina considers the referendum "illegal" is an indisputable fact and an addition of encyclopedic value to the article. Your WP:OR about "principles of law" and it being "made without foundation" is irrelevant as you well know. You are once again attempting to obscure relevant and properly sourced information from an article and once again I'll ask you to please self rv. Regards. Gaba (talk) 19:47, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

The Sovereignty Dispute agreement was that each paragraph would tell its story without interruption from the other points of view (to avoid these kind of problems). I removed the Argentine dismissal of the referendum from the Falklander's paragraph and placed it into the paragraph about Argentina's position. Remember that this structure helps present all points of view without any "ifs or buts". Regards.--MarshalN20 | Talk 20:02, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

My point which was very simple has not been addressed. No one has seen fit to include statements by British politicians asserting the referendum to be legal, or any comment on the great significance of the result. Yet we have seen it edit warred into the article an overtly political statement dismissing the referendum as illegal. That Argentina rejected the referendum is a fact, that it asserts it to be illegal is an opinion. That it has provided no basis is largely irrelevant. Keep it simple, simply assert the facts and not insert opinions into the article. I ask Marshall to redact that part of his edit, in which case he can remove the {{NPOV}} tag I am adding. I invite the point to be addressed again, noting yet again it has been ignored to waffle on about an irrelevant pointand to repeat the same personal opinion again. Wee Curry Monster talk 20:18, 14 March 2013 (UTC)
""No one has seen fit to include statements by British politicians asserting the referendum to be legal", so you are removing relevant content to prove a WP:POINT? That's not acceptable and you know it Wee. I'm sorry to tell you, but the only one "edit-warring" here is the editor who removed the same piece of information from the article, added by 3 different editors, 3 times now. That editor is you. Also "that it asserts it to be illegal is an opinion", no Wee it is a fact that Argentina considers the referendum "illegal". Did you miss all the refs I provided here?
So, not only did you remove that info (third time now), but you also added a NPOV tag to the section? Please Wee, be reasonable and revert back to Marshall's version which is the most appropriate without a doubt. Regards. Gaba (talk) 20:29, 14 March 2013 (UTC)
The term illegal does have too much negativity loaded to it, and so I can understand why it should not be included. Not only that, but the point of the sentence (that Argentina does not accept the referendum) can be made without it. The best explanation is given in the subsequent statement, where it is noted that Argentina simply does not see the Falkland Islands as an equal partner in negotiations.--MarshalN20 | Talk 20:38, 14 March 2013 (UTC)
It doesn't matter if we think the term is too strong, it is the exact term used by that country as the reason for the dismissal of the referendum. There's no reason why that information should be obscured given that it is a fact of encyclopedic value. Expecting the readers to somehow infer this information from subsequent statements is not reasonable when we can make it 100% clear with the addition of a couple of words. Regards. Gaba (talk) 20:44, 14 March 2013 (UTC)
Marshall: your edit is good but I still say we should mention the reason as stated by Argentina of why it dismissed the referendum. As I've said, there's really no reason not to include this relevant and encyclopedic fact. Regards. Gaba (talk) 20:48, 14 March 2013 (UTC)
Gaba, no need exists to include an uncomfortable term in the section when the same point can be made without it. The same goes with the term "overwhelmingly", which I removed from the Falklander's paragraph (No need exists for the loaded term when the results are already present). In both cases, nothing is left unclear, all points are made, and none of them are subject to "ifs or buts" from the opposing side. Best regards.--MarshalN20 | Talk 21:00, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

The purpose of the tag was to draw attention to an overtly political opinion inserted into the article as fact. This had been edit warred into the article contrary to WP:BRD. I simply note no attempt was made to address my reason for removing it.

Marshall makes a not too unreasonable argument, which I believe supports my point. The reason Argentina rejects the referendum is that it doesn't recognise the people to have any say in the matter. Asserting is "illegal" is actually denying pertinent information and contrary to a NPOV. Wee Curry Monster talk 21:09, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

Wee: how is adding a minimal bit of relevant and properly sourced information to the section "denying pertinent information and contrary to a NPOV"? I really can't find the reasoning behind this statement of yours. Argentina made it 100% clear that it considers the referendum illegal and that that is the reason it rejected it. And once again: no one edit warred nothing into the article, more like you edit warred it out.
Marshall: I'd say that was is left unclear is the reason why that country rejected the referendum. Our own perception of how uncomfortable a term might be should have no weight in our editing. If that was the term used (it was and this is a fact) then we can't just decide it's too strong a term to be included because we would be manually factoring the reality we present in the article. In any case, how about: "Argentina dismissed the Falkland Islands' sovereignty referendum as having no legal value"[8]. This way we can avoid using that specific word but the reason is still presented and properly sourced. Regards. Gaba (talk) 21:27, 14 March 2013 (UTC)


Stop addressing me as "Wee", no one is fooled by your attempt to wind me up, I've asked you to stop previously, now is the time to do it.

The reason why Argentina rejects the referendum is that it refuses to recognise the islanders have any say.

I and Marshall propose that we simply state that and do not obscure it by selecting phrases for their political overtures. It is very much a disputable fact that it is "illegal", the British Government states it is a legitimate expression of self-determination.

Again I am not arguing to put that statement in, simply to state the facts and not overtly political statements of opinion. Please do try and address the point. Wee Curry Monster talk 21:52, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

"Stop addressing me as "Wee", no one is fooled by your attempt to wind me up, I've asked you to stop previously, now is the time to do it.", uh?? O.O I have no idea what you are talking about here. Should I not address you as "Wee"? How should I refer to you? You've asked me to stop what previously? What do you mean by "wind you up"? You really lost me here.
No, the reason Argentina rejects the referendum is because it considers it has no legal value (ie: it considers it illegal) This can be thoroughly sourced: [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Can you source that the reason Argentina dismissed the referendum is expressly because of what you say?
That Argentina considers the referendum as "illegal" or "having no legal value" is a fact and should be added to the article as such. What are you not understanding here? Regards. Gaba (talk) 22:14, 14 March 2013 (UTC)
Yes, the word 'illegal' should be quoted as central to Argentina's position. Rothorpe (talk) 22:25, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

The word "illegal" (and a series of other phrases) could be included in several parts of the section, but (up to now) any such terms have been rightfully avoided. It is further worth noting that, aside from illegal, the referendum has also been called a parody, political maneuver, and publicity stunt. While they are good for selling newspaper stories, none of those terms are appropriate for the article. The reason for Argentina's actions all boil down to the same points mentioned in the opening sentence of the paragraph (and the last sentence as well).--MarshalN20 | Talk 23:04, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

Marshall: the crucial difference between "illegal" (or "of no legal value") and all those other terms assigned to the referendum is that none of them is the actual reason for the dismissal of the referendum. Now, calling the referendum any of those terms would be without a doubt political soapboxing since they serve no real purpose other than, as you point out, "sell newspaper stories". But what we can source is that Argentina dismissed the referendum as "illegal", that is the reason and this is an undisputed fact. Leaving this information out because we know the root cause for this dismissal (that Argentina considers the islanders do not have the right to self-determination and thus are not in a position to decide anything for themselves) is not correct. Any reader not familiar with the origins of the dispute will think Argentina dismissed it just because, since we are giving no reason for it. We can't expect the readers to infer information from other parts of the article when we can simply add 1-3 words and make that fact plainly clear. Regards. Gaba (talk) 23:32, 14 March 2013 (UTC)
We are not making the readers infer anything. The dismissal of the referendum is given as an example to the overall theme of the paragraph. What is the purpose to the whole paragraph if we are not expecting readers to acknowledge it?
If readers want to learn more about the referendum, they can always click on the wikilink to it. That is the place where personal opinions about the referendum (from politicians and other prominent figures) should be located. Regards.--MarshalN20 | Talk 00:32, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Gaba, perhaps it would be a good idea if you added a "criticism" section to the referendum article (Falkland Islands sovereignty referendum, 2013). That would be the best place where all of your sources should be used. Regards.--MarshalN20 | Talk 00:53, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Marshall, I just don't understand why you would oppose the addition of the reason (factual and properly cited as such) for the rejection of the referendum when it takes no more than 5 words to do so: "as having no legal value". This is information of encyclopedic value and definitely not a personal opinion from politicians nor a mere criticism: it's the official position of a country thoroughly sourced. There's just no logic in obscuring such a short and yet valuable statement and yes, we are making the readers infer information because we are not giving the reason for Argentina's dismissal. There's no way around this, if we don't mention the reason for the dismissal then its mention is incomplete whether or not it is mentioned somewhere else. Regards. Gaba (talk) 01:00, 15 March 2013 (UTC)
I understand your position, Gaba, but the necessity of the phrase ("no legal value" or "illegal") remains a negative for me. While it certainly answers the question of why Argentina dismissed the referendum, I think that the question is already better answered by other information in the paragraph. If the readers wanted a more specific answer, they can always click on the wikilink.
Furthermore, I find the Argentine senate a more credible voice for the Argentine nation. In this CNN report ([19]), it provides a good explanation of the referendum's rejection and the reasons (which are the ones that are already detailed in the paragraph).
Best wishes.--MarshalN20 | Talk 01:54, 15 March 2013 (UTC)
Whilst I accept the thrust of your argument Marshall, I do not accept it in its entirety. The use of such phrases do not answer the question of why, they are stating opinions motivated by political overtures not rooted in fact. It is much better to state the underlying reason, which is that the Argentines refuse to recognise the people of the Falkland Islands have any say. ".....the Islanders are not part of the sovereignty dispute since the sovereignty claims are over the territory and not them.” Argentina Ambassador to London (Alicia Castro) dismisses referendum. Picking phrases such as "no legal value" or "illegal" are classic examples of WP:CHERRY. See Cherry picking (fallacy) for a fuller explanation. Its a classic example of taking part of a remark out of context and the proposed edit misleads by not explaining the subject to our readers. I consider your revised text to be far superior to what was there before. Wee Curry Monster talk 09:14, 15 March 2013 (UTC)
Marshall please see [20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. All of those sources state that either Argentina or some of its politicians dismissed the referendum as illegal. Wee's "cherry picking" accusation is ridiculous. I absolutely do not propose to just pick a line from an article and leave something else out, that is what Wee is proposing we do. "Its a classic example of taking part of a remark out of context and the proposed edit misleads by not explaining the subject to our readers", that is precisely what you are attempting we do here Wee, my proposal is that we add relevant information whilst yours is that we take out. Here's what I propose:
  • Argentina dismissed the Falkland Islands' sovereignty referendum as having no legal value since Argentina only recognizes the UK government as a legitimate partner in negotiation.
This way the actual reason for the dismissal is stated and the underlying reason for that reason is also stated thus not forcing the readers to infer information. Regards. Gaba (talk) 12:37, 15 March 2013 (UTC)
I see no reason not to state the Argentinian position. The comment that the British position has not been stated is incorrect. HM government held a referendum - that is their position. If they wish to comment further, then we can add their response. TFD (talk) 13:06, 15 March 2013 (UTC)
We actually do state the Argentine position. What we really don't want to see is statement and counter statement so that the article reads like a mish mash of quotes by idiotic politicians. HMG did not hold a referendum, the FIG did. It had nothing to do with HMG. Wee Curry Monster talk 14:11, 15 March 2013 (UTC)
The Argentinian position is stated incomplete since the reason for the dismissal of the referendum is not given. Let me provide even more sources, this time from foreign (ie: not Argentinian) newspapers addressing Argentina's dismissal as considering the referendum as illegal: [27][28][29]. The German news media Deutsche Welle says explicitly:
  • "The Argentine government considers the referendum illegal and does not recognize it, based on the fact that it was not convened by the United Nations, does not have its approval nor was it supervised by the organization."[30] It really is hard to be any more clear than that.
Let me note also that Wee has breached the 3RR (once again): [31][32][33][34]
Once again I propose the following version of the sentence, fully backed by sources and noting that at least three editors here have commented that the reason should be mentioned as such:
  • Argentina dismissed the Falkland Islands' sovereignty referendum as having no legal value since Argentina only recognizes the UK government as a legitimate partner in negotiation.
Regards. Gaba (talk) 14:33, 15 March 2013 (UTC)


Gaba routine house keeping, is not a breach of 3RR. Abusing diffs again is merely seeking to escalate tension again. Please keep it civil and most of all try to avoid such childishness.
I repeat, the reason Argentina has rejected the referendum is that is doesn't believe the people of the Falkland Islands have any rights to an opinion. The rest of the comments are as Marshall noted earlier good newspaper headlines but not suitable content for an encyclopedia.
Shouting "IT IS SOURCED" is not justification for introduced biased content. Equally the following is "sourced".
[35] 'The message is loud and clear', said Member of the Legislative Assembly Gavin Short, 'that we want to stay British and Argentina cannot ignore the wishes of the people'.
[36] "It is clear that the people of the Falklands are British and have chosen to be so and as such have the right to self-determination as set out in the United Nations Charter."
[37] "Falkland Islands’ referendum message to Argentina: “intimidation of Islanders must cease”"
[38] “With reference to Monday’s ballot, our position is that only the people of the Falklands can determine their future. The results were very clear”, said Canadian Foreign Affairs minister John Baird in his twitter.
[39] "Thus the litigation is difficult to sustain nowadays “in which international law rests more on the peoples’ perspective than in the historic, real or imaginary territorial possession. Particularly for a government that considers itself popular such as the one of Cristina Kirchner, it is not trivial to stand up against the principle of self-determination”."
I have no intention of even suggesting this small sample of many similar statements should be in the article. We should simply state the facts as they are, the bare bones of the facts as it is a summary. We should not be giving credence to headline grabbing stunts by politicians on either side. Wee Curry Monster talk 16:12, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

I'm sorry Wee but your arguments are ridiculously fallacious. You are comparing the addition of 5 words that would explain beyond any doubt the reason for Argentina's dismissal of the referendum (an addition of encyclopedic value) with random comments by random people (?). Please see strawman Wee. And sorry again but yes, you did breach 3RR reverting 4 times 4 different editors in less than 24 hours.

I believe the news media Deutsche Welle explains it beyond any doubt so here it goes again:

  • "The Argentine government considers the referendum illegal and does not recognize it, based on the fact that it was not convened by the United Nations, does not have its approval nor was it supervised by the organization."[40]

Given this (plus the endless amount of sources presented) the edit proposed is:

  • Argentina dismissed the Falkland Islands' sovereignty referendum as having no legal value since Argentina only recognizes the UK government as a legitimate partner in negotiation.

I note you oppose. Let's see what other editors say, shall we? Regards. Gaba (talk) 16:26, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Whatever, in response to a bad faith reference to 3RR, I have reverted on a routine house keeping edit. I would ask that someone else fixes the mess please.
Will you please stop stating the same thing repeatedly, having the WP:LASTWORD as you always, always insist on doing. You've already made the same proposal, I've commented on it, let others do the same. All you do is deter other comments. Wee Curry Monster talk 16:53, 15 March 2013 (UTC)
Wee, in case you haven't noticed it is you who is fighting to have the last word. You have opposed my proposed edit, that's noted. Could you please now let other editors comment on it? Your last comment added nothing to the discussion except another WP:PA against me. So once again, this is my proposed edit based on the endless number of references provided and the fact that it represents a minimal addition of a fact of encyclopedic value which states the reason why Argentina dismissed the referendum (information currently not present in the article):
  • Argentina dismissed the Falkland Islands' sovereignty referendum as having no legal value since Argentina only recognizes the UK government as a legitimate partner in negotiation.
Let's wait comments from other editors Wee, ok? Regards. Gaba (talk) 17:23, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Spanish name?

I think the English Wikipedia articles are making a fundemental error of logic in regards to the naming convention. We are posting this: (/ˈfɔːlklənd/; Spanish: Islas Malvinas) in our article introductions, But this presupposes that everyone who speaks Spanish recognizes Argentina's claims.

However, if you go to Babylon.com, and you translate "Falkland Islands" you get this: Falkland Islands, Human Translation: Islas Falkland (Islas Malvinas, archipiélago en el Océano Atlántico al Este de Argentina) The literal English to Spanish translation is: "Islas Falkland" And this is similar to how the literal English to Spanish of "Hawaii Island" is "isla de Hawaii" takes place

But, if you got to Google Translate, you get a biased result. For example, at Google translate, "British Islands" translates to "Islas británicas" But at Google Translate "Falkland Islands" translates to "islas Malvinas"

This is is NOT an accurate language to language translation. Google has clearly interjected the poltical Agentinian claim into the the translation process. This is the same as if Google were to translater "Southwestern United States" as "Aztlán" instead of "Sudoeste de los Estados Unidos" And indeed, there are many out there who see the SW USA as "Aztlán" http://www.mayorno.com/WhoIsMecha.html

In the case of the Falklands, it is an error of logic to presuppose that ALL Spanish speaking people also transpose meaning instead of merely translating the term. "islas Malvinas" has an entirely different meaning than "Islas Falkland" and Wikipedia is pepetuating a misomer if we continue using it this way.

The correct Spanish translation is "Islas Falkland" The poltically-tinged Agentinian translation is "islas Malvinas"

But Argentina does not speak for Spain - Spain is part of the EU and the EU recognizes the name as "Falkland Islands", therefore, for us to say that the "Spanish" translation must also transpose the political intent (not merely translate the words) is wrong.

Read this: http://www.definitions.net/definition/falkland%20islands "The Spanish name for the islands, Malvinas, is from the French Malouins, inhabitants of St. Malo who attempted to colonize the islands in 1764. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p389 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p182)

Wikipedia is perpetuating a misomer

98.118.62.140 (talk) 05:34, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

Interesting comment but the alternate language names are not just a simple translation but the common name in the other language. Lots of places have a different names in different languages that are not just a straight translation, have you a reliable source that Islas Malvinas is not the common name in Spanish? MilborneOne (talk) 09:02, 12 March 2013 (UTC)
The Spanish language is regulated, the officially endorsed Spanish translation is Islas Malvinas. Islas Falkland was commonly used in Chile until comparatively recently and is still commonly used there; officially the Chilean government encourages the use of Islas Malvinas. And interestingly right up to the 1930s, Islas Falkland was used in Argentina - even in 30% of textbooks issued by the education ministry. Wee Curry Monster talk 09:27, 12 March 2013 (UTC)
Regulated by whom? I've provided more than one reliable source which says that Islas Falkland is correct. The controlling legal authority in terms of naming The Falklands Islands, so far as Spain goes, is the EU. And the EU recognizes The Falklands name as "Falkland Islands". And clearly, the points I am making do back up what I am saying: The term Islas Malvinas is not a translation of the term Falkland Islands. Rather, Islas Malvinas is a entirely different term with totally distinct lingistic roots. No actual translation occurs. What we are posting is blatantly false - as false as saying 1+1=3. 98.118.62.140 (talk) 23:45, 12 March 2013 (UTC)
Even the NYT backs me on this point. As NYT makes clear "Argentines call [the Falkland Islands] Las Malvinas". It's only an Argentinian usage, not a global Spanish usage. It's wrong for Wikipedia to inject itself in favor of Agentina's pet name for the islands, unless we denote it as such. 98.118.62.140 (talk) 00:05, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

The Falkland Islands were called Islas Malvinas even before Argentina was a country. Regards.--MarshalN20 | Talk 00:48, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

It's not only an Argentinian term, it's the correct name of the islands in the Spanish language. The official regulatory entity of the Spanish language is the "Real Academia Española" (based in Spain, not Argentina). If you go to their dictionary "DICCIONARIO PANHISPÁNICO DE DUDAS" and search for "malvinas" you'll see it says:
  • Malvinas. Forma tradicional española del nombre de estas islas... No debe usarse en español el nombre inglés Falkland (Islands).
which translates to:
  • Malvinas. Traditional Spanish form of the name of these islands...The English name Falkland (Islands) must not be used in Spanish.
(emphasis added). I hope this clears your doubts. Regards. Gaba (talk) 01:09, 13 March 2013 (UTC)
Islas Falkland is used, as evidenced by the edict from Mercosur to stop the practise. As Carlos Escude notes here (Published Working Paper of the Duke-UNC Program in Latin America Studies. Durham N.C., N4, Octubre de 1992):
It was also used in Argentina before 1941. I have said it before that the official translation is Islas Malvinas but there is significant minority usage of Islas Falkland. The same does not apply to use of Malvinas Islands, which is mainly restricted to fringe use or English language publications by Argentina. Wee Curry Monster talk 12:24, 13 March 2013 (UTC)
Of course 'islas Falkland' has been a real proper name before and after 1941, but 'islas Malvinas' was the legally-accepted and preferred term in Argentina all along. Yet I agree that 'Malvinas' is not the Spanish translation of 'Falkland'. Calling them one way or the other is possible in any language, and it suggests taking a position with regards to the dispute. Therefore, for neutrality, UN policy accepts the author's choice but, more interestingly, when producing documents, it uses 'islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands)' when the document is in Spanish, and 'Falkland Islands (Malvinas)' in other languages (translated if necessary) with the inclusion of a disclaimer referring to the disputed sovereignty. This terminology is more neutral than the Argentine one, or the British one that this Wikipedia article adopted. Following this example, the article's title could be mended to 'Falkland Islands (Malvinas)' with the inclusion of a disclaimer, with a similar correction in the Spanish Wikipedia. Though, I must say, this would mend just a tiny bit of their tendentiousness. Andrés Djordjalian (talk) 00:09, 17 March 2013 (UTC)
I think your suggestion of 'Falkland Islands (Malvinas)' is the least erroneous, and should be adopted here, by us. 98.118.62.140 (talk) 17:56, 22 March 2013 (UTC)
We've had a stable consensus for some time of giving prominence to the Spanish name as well as the English name. If you check the history I was in fact the editor responsible for ensuring this is universal around 2007/2008. Are you suggesting that both es.wikipedia and en.wikipedia standardise on "Falkland Islands (Malvinas)" or just this site? I rather doubt that any reduction in tendentiousness would result if we alone were to do so. The es.wikipedia site is trenchantly non-neutral on Falklands topic and that is not something you can accuse the en.wikipedia of. Wee Curry Monster talk 01:57, 23 March 2013 (UTC)

What I meant is that "Falklands" is not the English name and "Malvinas" the Spanish one. But I realize I may be wrong afer reading Gaba's observation about RAE accepted usage, considering that the RAE is the utmost authority for the Spanish language. I was suggesting to use "Falkland Islands (Malvinas)" on en.wikipedia and "Islas Malvinas (Falkland)" on es.wikipedia imitating UN policy, though I agree that reduction of tendentiousness would be small at best. Regarding neutrality, I can confidently say that there is bias in both en.wikipedia and es.wikipedia. When I mentioned the issue, I was thinking of this (sub)site. -- Andrés Djordjalian (talk) 05:06, 23 March 2013 (UTC)

Falkland Islands is the English name and given that we already ensure the Spanish name has prominence I doubt there is much value in adopting precisely the same convention as the UN. Whilst it is perhaps attractive to equate the UN with neutrality, it is frequently driven by political considerations and power block politics that means it is not. That convention resulted from Argentina lobbying the non-alighned movement in the UN in the 1960s and of itself it is more motivated by a anti-British stance rooted in the quasi anti-colonial sentiments of that movement.
As regards neutrality, I have to observe the en.wikipedia is by and large neutrally written, whilst the same cannot be said of es.wikipedia. The Falklands topics have been dominated by a group of Argentine editors for years, who will not permit anything other than the official line of the Argentine government. If anything this site in being strict on neutrality ends up by favouring the Argentine position in many cases. Wee Curry Monster talk 11:07, 23 March 2013 (UTC)
Indeed. I note also that Wikipedia nearly always prefers use of a single name rather than "Danzig/Gdansk"-type solutions. "Falkland Islands" is by far the most common primary usage in English-language documents, including those that one would consider neutral on sovereignty. Neutral sources, when they discuss the dispute, frequently mention "Malvinas" once as the Spanish name while using "Falklands" as primary - a convention that we have chosen to mirror on Wikipedia.
Concoctions that primarily use "Malvinas" as an English word near-exclusively come from the Argentine government (or from statements originating from them), or from fringe usage in far-left publications that use the word to signal their support the Argentine claim. Kahastok talk 11:23, 23 March 2013 (UTC)

You are missing the point

If this is true "The Spanish name for the islands, Malvinas, is from the French Malouins, inhabitants of St. Malo who attempted to colonize the islands in 1764. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p389 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p182), then the term Islas Malvinas is NOT a translation of the term "Falkland Islands". Do you not understand the point I am making? The naming convention you are using does not represent a translation, but wiki is presenting it as one. While the underlying usage might be valid, presenting that usage as a translation is a misnomer. It is simply not factually accurate the represent the term Islas Malvinas as a translation from the English Falkland Islands. In truth, its etymology is that it comes from the French Malouins. This is indisputable and we are perpetuating a misnomer. 98.118.62.140 (talk) 04:37, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

But the etymology is irrelevant. The usual name of the islands in Spanish is Islas Malvinas. Here in Portugal it's Ilhas Malvinas, and not by order of the Argentinian government. Meanwhile, Falkland is found elsewhere too: see for example the Italian wiki: this may be EU solidarity or just because the conflict is famous. Rothorpe (talk) 01:01, 15 March 2013 (UTC)
Or, it could be because the editors of the Italian Wiki recognize that Falklands is the correct name. Shotgun wedding or not, those islands are married to the UK and the correct name is Falkland Islands. Any translation therefore, must be an accurate one; which is what I've been saying. However, changing the entire page title to 'Falkland Islands (Malvinas)' is also correct, because it shows the dominant and subordinate names on equal footing, in the correct order and without any incorrect translation. 98.118.62.140 (talk) 18:01, 22 March 2013 (UTC)
It's interesting to look at a few of the interwiki links. Those most ancient of wikis, Latin and Anglo-Saxon, exemplify the linguistic division with "Insulae Malvinae" and "Folcland Īegland". It does seem to be a matter of translation. Non-Romance wikis (Swedish, Finnish, Russian, Hungarian, Greek, Turkish, Albanian, not to mention Esperanto and Interlingua) use Falkland, reflecting the political reality, but in Latinland são as Malvinas, normalmente. Rothorpe (talk) 23:05, 22 March 2013 (UTC)
  1. ^ [41] Falklands’ land mine clearance set to enter a new expanded phase in early 2012, Mercopress, 8 December 2011
  2. ^ a b c d e "Falklands/Malivnas". web page. International Campaign to Ban Landmines. 16 December 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2013. Cite error: The named reference "Landmine Monitor" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Falklands' minefield clearance next phase moves to the capital Stanley Common". Mercopress. 12 February 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  4. ^ [42] Falklands’ land mine clearance set to enter a new expanded phase in early 2012, Mercopress, 8 December 2011
  5. ^ [43] Falklands’ land mine clearance set to enter a new expanded phase in early 2012, Mercopress, 8 December 2011
  6. ^ "Falklands' minefield clearance next phase moves to the capital Stanley Common". Mercopress. 12 February 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  7. ^ [44] Falklands’ land mine clearance set to enter a new expanded phase in early 2012, Mercopress, 8 December 2011
  8. ^ "Falklands recover 370 hectares of Stanley Common made minefields in 1982 by Argentine forces". web page. Merco Press, Montevideo. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  9. ^ "Falklands' minefield clearance next phase moves to the capital Stanley Common". Mercopress. 12 February 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
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