The Faklands conflict was a conventional one, not what we are seeing in these days

There is a debate opened once more about the Falklands question. This was a disgraceful war, which was a tragedy for everybody, not only the islanders, but all the soldiers deployed there from both sides. I find responsible in this case to the dishonourable General Galtieri and his Minister of Foreign Affaires the late Ambassador Nicanor Costa-Mendez, especially the latter one, who lived in England for many years and went to school there and to the University as well and knew quite well the British people. He was utterly mistaken and being an extremely cultivated man, who had spoken English with a strong “Oxford” English accent, he was aware of the response to the reoccupation of the island by the then PM Margaret Thatcher. I am not a fanatic nationalist in this country, I am just second generation with my Austrian, Scottish, Irish and French background I feel that I am more European than anything else. Nontheless I am very proud of being an Argentinean as well. To those Gentlemen in Britain who had argued that the UN General Assembly gave the reason to the British position in this matter, you are utterly wrong. Every year they recommend to both sides to continue their negotiations in connection with the Falklands. Sooner or later, possibly in many decades to come, the islands will be part again of Argentina as Gibraltar from the Kingdom of Spain, but I am convinced that Argentina must change a lot, we Argentineans must recover our lost leadership in the Southern Cone of America, we must overcome many problems that we still have thanks to the populist legacy of Peron and the darks days of guerrilla warfare and dictatorship. Argentina was a complete different country when we had constitutional Governments for almost a century, we were one of the wealthiest countries in the world, we had a wonderful relation with the British Empire, our trade and cultural association with the UK brought immense benefits for both sides. Almost half million of Argentines with a British origin in Argentina, and almost two million Irish they had enjoyed, including in the worst periods of our history, their right to keep their traditions and attachment to their traditions, many of our dear Brits are still openly supporters of your monarchy and your Queen and Prince William as well. But let’s remember that there are other perilous challenges to our survival that we have to face all of us as members of what was called once the Western and Christian Civilization, this challenge comes from the rebirth of fundamentalism in the Islamic world thanks to the blindness and unforgettable mistakes of George Bush and your PM Mr. Blair. The Falklands are not an international issue right now and will not be in the foreseeable future. But all this disaster provoked by the “unilateralist” vision of the world will be the worst legacy of these two men in the years to come. The tragedy of our times is that the problems that we as Westerners are quite more complex, risky and dangerous that the “Skirmish” in the South Atlantic where un unpopular dictator tried to avoid his overthrew with this terrible war, where many young guys without any training were sent to confront the very professional British army gave their lives for our motherland, they were heroes, but they were used by those in power. In the same way that the South Atlantic war helped Baroness Thatcher to win the elections later on. But again, in these days Argentines and British are facing the same peril, coming from Islamic fundamentalism, which had been feed by the stupidity and blindness of those who I named before. I hope that Gordon Brown will follow the steps of the US Congress, trying to stop the butchery in Iraq if it is possible and to reduce the risk of more terrorists attacks at home, the same that we suffered in Argentina in 1992 and 1994, when 150 people were massacred by suicide terrorists when they attacked the Embassy of Israel and a Catholic church in front of in and a Jewish Community Centre. I respect the remembrances of 1982, but I consider that we have to pay attention now to another kind of war, which is quite treacherous and has no warning, as we can see in Iraq and Afghanistan. We must close ranks in this new kind of war, turning the page of history.

User Comments / Have Your Say

The opinions and views expressed in the above comment are purely those of the writer and in no way reflect the opinions or views of the Daily Express website, the Daily Express newspaper or Northern And Shell Media Publications. We accept no responsibilty legal or otherwise for the accurancy or truth of this comment.