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Falklands War 30th Anniversary: 5 British and Argentine papers react

April 2, 2012 marks the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War, which lasted less than three months but claimed the lives of more than 900 soldiers.  Here are five reactions from Argentine and British newspapers on the anniversary of the Falkland Islands War:

Some British on Falkland Islands for nine generations

  • By Whitney Eulich Staff writer

The Telegraph, UK
Why we still want to work with Argentina
William Hague, British foreign secretary and MP for Richmond in Yorkshire

“Today’s anniversary of the start of that conflict marks a day for commemoration and reflection, especially for those families – on both sides – whose loved ones were lost to its battles...

As we look back on those events, we should remind the world that in the years since their liberation the Falkland islanders have repeated – without qualification or equivocation – their wish to keep their constitutional status, their national identity, and to live peacefully with their neighbours in Latin America. As long as the people of the Falklands continue to express that view, the UK will defend and support their right to do so.…As I said in a speech shortly after becoming Foreign Secretary, the UK has been too much absent from South America for too long. The increased potential of the partnerships between Britain and Latin American countries is beginning to show since we’ve increased our diplomatic presence...

Against this broader context, the Argentine government’s policy in recent months has been deeply regrettable and its statements have impressed few people, including in South America. In place of the dialogue and engagement we saw in the 1990s, Argentina has in recent years taken a range of measures to try to coerce the islands... Such efforts to intensify a disagreement – which neither we nor the people of the Falkland Islands have ever sought to provoke – are out of step with international collaboration in the modern world.

Britain will maintain an absolute commitment to preserve the right of the Falkland islanders, some of whom have lived there for nine generations, to determine their own political and economic destiny."

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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