THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Cristina Kirchner has been warned to leave Falkland Islanders to decide their own future as Argentina's president faced a backlash from a group of the South American country's leading thinkers.
Last week, Sean Penn, the Hollywood actor, appeared with President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to criticise British actions over the disputed archipelago.
But a group of Argentina's leading intellectuals, historians, journalists, constitutional experts and politicians have published an open letter calling on their own government to rethink policy towards the islands they call the Malvinas branding it "crazy" and "absurd".
The 17 signatories accused Mrs Kirchner's government of "harassing" the Falklands population of 3,000, who overwhelmingly want the islands to remain a British Overseas Territory.
The group said Argentina must respect the islanders' right to self-determination and give up its policy of trying to force Britain into negotiating sovereignty.
"It is truly absurd and crazy to force a government and sovereignty on people who do not want it," commented Fernando Iglesias, a former congressman who co-authored the document. » | Fiona Govan | Wednesday, February 22, 2012
