Respect the right of Falkland Islanders to self-determination

Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands. ‘The UK should be as proud to be linked with the Falkland Islands as the islanders are to be linked with the UK.’ Photograph: David Parker/Alamy

Re Simon Jenkins’ article (Argentinian firebrand Javier Milei is right about one thing: British sovereignty of the Falklands must end, 24 November), like any former colony, Falkland Islanders have a right to self-determination, recognised by the UN.

In 2013, with a 92% turnout of the electorate, under international observation, 99.8% of voters in the Falkland Islands chose to remain an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. The only colonialist in this situation is Argentina, wishing to annex territory that was never its own. It is difficult to see any point of substance in Jenkins’s argument. The islands’ status as a British overseas territory has nothing to do with imperial gestures, and everything to do with the wishes of the population, democratically expressed.