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completed the questionnaire are in favour of maintaining a two Council system and of replacing nominated members of the
Executive Council by elected ones.
14.
During the last election campaign in the Islands in 1981, many options for the Islands' future were aired and keenly
discussed. There was scant support then for independence, and
there is even less now.
15.
In considering any constitutional changes for the
Islands, we have to bear in mind some important difficulties. First, the population is small, and the size of the electorate
was only 1,034 in 1981. It is difficult for people to travel regularly to Stanley from other parts of the Islands, and few feel willing and able to participate in the Councils. The division of the Islands into appropriate constituencies is not straightforward. And the responsibilities which are given to
the Councils have to be responsibilities the Islanders feel
confident they can handle, and have to be appropriate to the size of the population.
16.
The present consideration both here and in Port Stanley of possible changes to present arrangements for governing the
Falkland Islands is a reflection of the principle of
self-determination. Argentina denies the Falkland Islands such
a right, but it is one to which we attach the highest
importance. It is a right generally regarded in the UN as
inalienable, and is an important principle of the Non-Aligned
Movement. The exercise was not launched in order to strengthen
the international position of the Islands, but it serves as a demonstration of our commitment to respect the wishes of the
Islanders.
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