King penguins prepare to get into the ocean at Volunteer Point
beach, near Stanley in the Falkland Islands. / Daniel Garcia,
AFP/Getty Images BUENOS AIRES -- Three decades after Britain
went to war over the Falklands, its few hundred inhabitants
voted almost unanimously Monday to remain a British territory.
Few had expected the English-speaking archipelago of about 2,800
people to switch sides and become part of Argentina. And when
results were announced Monday night, only three islanders among
1,517 qualified voters had favored a switch - meaning 99.8%
backed the status quo. "We're not interested in being taken
over," says Peslyn Barkman, 25, a sixth-generation Falklander
whose ancestors arrived more than a hundred years ago.
"Argentina has nothing to do with our heritage." Argentina
vigorously lays claim to the Falkland Islands, which are 300
miles off its southern coast and remain British overseas
territory. Buenos Aires has long claimed sovereignty over the
islands, which it calls Las Malvinas. Under Pres