Argentina Unions Threaten To Boycott UK Vessels In Falklands Row
February 14 2012 - 6:12PM
Dow Jones News
Argentine maritime workers plan to boycott U.K. flagged ships in
the latest chapter of an escalating dispute between the two nations
over the contested Falkland Islands, according to a top union
official.
Diplomatic tensions between Argentina and the U.K. over the
sovereignty of the Falklands, known as the Malvinas in Spanish,
have risen sharply in recent weeks. Last week, Argentina made an
official complaint to the United Nations to protest what it has
described as the U.K.'s militarization of the islands.
The complaint comes after the U.K. said it was sending a warship
to patrol the South Atlantic and that Prince William had begun a
stint as a search and rescue pilot on the Falklands. The U.K. has
described both deployments as routine.
Starting Tuesday at midnight local time, trade union SOMU will
cease to provide services to U.K. vessels as well as those of other
nations hired by U.K.-based shipping companies, secretary general
Omar Suarez said.
"As workers we are totally offended by... the militarization of
the South Atlantic," he said in an interview.
SOMU represents sailors, cooks and other workers serving on
ships in Argentine waters.
Suarez said the measure has the support of Argentina's
transportation union umbrella group CATT, whose members include
SOMU as well as air and railroad unions.
In a statement widely cited by local media Tuesday, CATT said it
had decided to boycott U.K. vessels to protest the U.K.'s
"militarist pretension" in the disputed islands.
CATT secretary general Omar Viviani wasn't immediately available
for comment.
Dock workers union SUPA still hasn't decided whether to join the
boycott. Its participation hinges on whether Argentina's largest
trade union confederation, CGT, gives the nod, a union official
said.
"We are with the CGT. What the CGT decides, we follow," said the
SUPA official, who expects the CGT to make a decision early
Friday.
Disruptions to trade with the U.K. might backfire on Argentina,
which enjoyed a trade surplus of $269 million with the U.K. in
2010.
Argentina has long demanded the return of the Falklands, which
have been under British control since the early 1830s, as well as
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic.
The two nations fought a brief but bloody war for control of the
islands in 1982 that ended in a crushing defeat for Argentina.
The U.K. has repeatedly said it will defend the islanders right
to self-determination.
Argentine President Cristina Kirchner has enjoyed some success
in her efforts to diplomatically and economically isolate the
Falklands, whose inhabitants are overwhelmingly of British
descent.
In December, the South American trade block, Mercosur, closed
its ports to Falkland flagged vessels. Some Caribbean countries
have since joined the Mercosur embargo.
Concerns have also grown that Argentina might act on past
threats to block the only regular commercial flight to the
Falklands, operated by LAN Airlines SA (LFL), which flies through
Argentine airspace from Chile.
Argentina has become more vocal in its demands of sovereignty
following the start of offshore oil and gas exploration near the
islands by London-listed Falkland Oil & Gas Ltd. (FOGL.LN),
Rockhopper Exploration PLC (RKH.LN) and Desire Petroleum PLC
(DES.LN) in 2010.
Oil production could prove a boon for the Falkland Islands
government, whose main source of revenue are fisheries licenses
sold to companies eager to fish the rich waters surrounding the
islands.
-By Ken Parks, Dow Jones Newswires; 54-11-4103-6740,
ken.parks@dowjones.com
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