GaudÃ­n, AndrÃ©s

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University of New MexicoUNM Digital RepositoryNotiSur Latin America Digital Beat (LADB)2-3-2012Tensions Continue Thirty Years after War betweenArgentina and Great BritainAndrÃ©s GaudÃnFollow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/notisurThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Latin America Digital Beat (LADB) at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted forinclusion in NotiSur by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact amywinter@unm.edu.Recommended CitationGaudÃn, AndrÃ©s. "Tensions Continue Thirty Years after War between Argentina and Great Britain." (2012).https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/notisur/14028LADB Article Id:  78490ISSN:  1060-4189©2011  The University of New Mexico,Latin American & Iberian InstituteAll rights reserved. Page 1 of 3Tensions Continue Thirty Years after War betweenArgentina and Great Britainby Andrés GaudínCategory/Department:  ArgentinaPublished:  2012-02-03Two months before the 30th anniversary of the start of the Falklands/Malvinas War, British PrimeMinister David Cameron's administration began a dangerous escalation of tension that broughtmemories of the early morning of April 2, 1982, when Argentine troops landed on the South Atlanticislands to begin an unsuccessful military operation that ended, 73 days later, with hundreds ofyoung conscripts dead and the signing of a humiliating unconditional surrender. At that time, the Argentine dictators felt that the foundations of the bloody regime establishedMarch 24, 1976, were cracking, and they imagined that regaining sovereignty over the Malvinas—a longstanding claim of Argentine society—could become a unifying factor that would enable themto stay in power.  During those years, Argentina was a country consumed by crisis, in debt, withindustry destroyed and high unemployment, especially among youth.  Discontent reigned.Since the end of the dictatorship in December 1983, successive constitutional governments havepersisted in the claim of sovereignty over the Malvinas, but they always channeled their actionsthrough the UN, calling for a solution through dialogue. British government steps up rhetoricToday, it is the London government that is tightening the screws and ordering a series of actionsthat Argentine Prime Minister Héctor Timerman called "provocative."  These actions have includedreinforcing the military presence on the islands and even mentioning the desirability of positioninga nuclear submarine in the South Atlantic waters. Everyone from former diplomats during the time of the dictatorship to political analysts andgovernment and opposition politicians is asking if it is the critical situation of the declining Britisheconomy—with its crippled industrial sectors and 2.7 million unemployed (including 22.3% ofthose under 24 years of age)—that has led Cameron to "turn to a pathetic demonstration of powerinappropriate in times of peace," as Argentine Vice President Amado Boudou said.Prince William, heir to the British thrown, must complete his military training and has elected todo so in the Falklands.  He will spend six weeks on the islands.  Since his final exercises will beginduring February, perhaps it would have been wise to not choose this place, especially because April2 will mark the three-decade anniversary of the start of that absurd war. South American support for Argentina solidAlthough in Argentina there were negative comments regarding the selection, the administrationof President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner did not pass judgment.  Amid this deafening silence,on Dec. 15, Uruguay ratified a measure that it had taken in September 2010, which bars any Britishwarship en route to the Malvinas and any merchant ship flying the flag of the islands from enteringits ports.  The latter measure was taken not only in solidarity with Argentina but also because theFalklands are not a nation and to recognize the legality of a ship flying that flag would be to tacitlyLADB Article Id:  78490ISSN:  1060-4189©2011  The University of New Mexico,Latin American & Iberian InstituteAll rights reserved. Page 2 of 3accept a nonexistent sovereignty.  Uruguay has always said that the Malvinas are Argentine territoryand has expressed that sentiment in international forums.New problems ensued.  The British government called in Uruguay's Ambassador to London NéstorMoreira Morán to demand "explanations" and to express its "great concern" at the Montevideogovernment's action.  Simultaneously, in the Uruguayan capital, British Ambassador PatrickMullee released an arrogant communiqué asking Foreign Minister Luis Almagro for a meetingand demanding an "urgent" response regarding the "potentially very worrying" decision bythe Uruguayan government.  The note added, in a threatening way, that London was "carefullyconsidering our next steps" and said that "nor we or the Falklands will yield to those pretending tointimidate or blackmail the islands." Uruguay's representative in London and the foreign minister responded in the same vein, witha paragraph from a posting by President José Mujica on the Presidencia de la República Webpage:  "A political determination exists that does not allow ships to enter Uruguayan ports thatfly the illegal flag of the Malvinas, whose sovereignty is claimed by Argentina with the support ofUruguay."  The responses clarified that "all merchant ships (not military vessels) with the Englishflag can enter the port, the same as those of any other country."Two days later, on Dec. 20, the four presidents of the Southern Cone Common Market(MERSOCUR) countries met in Montevideo and ratified their commitment to the Argentinesovereignty claim, but they particularly backed the Uruguayan decision and agreed that ships withthe Falklands flag could not enter any MERCOSUR port. That was followed by the solidarity of the Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (UNASUR).  That isall of South America—something the London government seems not to have considered, since thistime countries that backed Britain during the 1982 war, such as some former British colonies andChile, supported the Argentine claim. Andrés Chadwick, official spokesman for Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, was clear:  "Thereis no problem recognizing a ship that flies the British flag or the flag of any other country, but wecannot recognize a ship with the flag of a state that, in Chile's judgment, is not a state, because theMalvinas is simply a British colonial possession."British press criticizes Cameron"Perhaps worn down by critical reality, as were the Argentine dictators who unleashed the war in1982, Cameron opted for insulting language and some attitudes that were almost belligerent," saidAlberto Dearriba, an analyst with the daily Tiempo Argentino in his Jan. 21 column. The British press was also hard on its government.  On Dec. 23, Richard Gott wrote in The Guardianthat Cameron is "asleep" in the face of the new reality.  The editorial writer of the London papercalled for a dialogue to be established regarding the islands' sovereignty and said that the Britishgovernment has to see that "South America is growing in strength and increasingly united.  Britainmust wake up to this new reality."Three weeks later, on Jan. 18, it was the turn of Camilla Swift of the conservative weekly TheSpectator.  The analyst criticized Cameron's militaristic threats and asked "how far that 'strongmessage' will extend…with defense cuts trimming our forces day by day." LADB Article Id:  78490ISSN:  1060-4189©2011  The University of New Mexico,Latin American & Iberian InstituteAll rights reserved. Page 3 of 3The Economist also referred to the British government's "lack of analytical ability" and remindedCameron, "In 2010 Hillary Clinton, America’s secretary of state, called for talks over the dispute, acontrast to 1982 when the United States backed Britain."In the verbal escalation—in which he incredibly referred to Argentina's "colonialism"—Cameronforgot that 10 of the 16 conflicts studied by the UN Special Committee on Decolonization have GreatBritain as the country responsible for carrying out colonial practices. Prime minister doubles downSince mid-December 2011, the prime minister has taken actions that worry the internationalcommunity.  First, he reiterated that Prince William would finish his military training in theFalklands on a particularly ill-advised date.  Next, during a report on the employment crisis beforethe House of Commons, Cameron inserted the Falklands issue and did not dismiss a suggestionfrom the former head of the Royal Navy Lord Alan West to "send a nuclear submarine to the SouthAtlantic so they can see how committed we are to protecting the islands." Just hours later, Cameron ratified oil-exploration concessions in waters claimed by Argentina (inmid-2011, the company Rockhopper Exploration had revealed findings "likely to be commerciallyviable" in four areas north of the islands:  Sea Lion, Casper, Beverly, and Casper South), and heannounced that a new oil rig would begin operations near the 200-mile Argentine continental shelfin early February. On Jan. 19, Cameron called an "emergency" meeting of the National Security Council andannounced that he had just approved a "military contingency plan," which implied deploying moretroops.  Finally, on Jan. 24, Great Britain went to the extreme of preventing 3,600 passengers fromvarious countries aboard the cruise ship Star Princess from disembarking in Port Stanley on theirtrip to visit the islands.  The ship had fulfilled all the sanitary protocols in Argentina and Chile,but British authorities on the islands said that, two weeks earlier, 20 passengers had had intestinalproblems, which presented the risk of an epidemic.The islands form an archipelago 480 km east of the Argentine Patagonia.  They include two largeislands and some 200 smaller islands that comprise an area of just over 12,100 sq km.  The Britishhave occupied the islands since 1833.  The population is 3,120, 90% of whom are British citizens.  London has 1,100 military personnel deployed there—without counting the reinforcementsannounced by Cameron—a ratio of approximately one soldier for every three civilian residents.  Besides fishing and oil resources, the islands are strategic for Great Britain because of theirproximity to the Antarctic Continent.-- End --

Tensions Continue Thirty Years after War between Argentina and Great Britain

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Tensions Continue Thirty Years after War between Argentina and Great Britain

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