Category Archives: Falklands

DOWN SOUTH ATLANTIC WAY…

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I see that the BBC’s print version – The Guardian – has been happy enough to take the money from the Argentinian government and run an Open Letter advertisement from Argentinian President Kirchner claiming sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. When the BBC reports that “British Newspapers” have carried  the ad …they should clarify that it was LEFT WING British Newspaper – (Graniard and Indie) …that were happy enough to take the blood money.  With the BBC and Guardian ideologically aligned, BBC must be gutted they could not take advertising.

ARGIE BARGY

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Yesterday, I queries the BBC view of the Falklands war all those years ago. I am reminded by a B-BBC contributor of this;

“Here’s an interesting snippet from the BBC revealing what it thinks about the Falklands and perhaps the Argentinian claim on them:

‘Thirty years after the Falkland’s War, journalist and military historian Max Hastings explores the conflict’s impact and its legacy.  The Falklands could well be the last popular war Britain fights, and certainly the country’s last imperial hurrah.’

Hmmm…so the possession of the Flaklands is merely an ‘imperial hurrah’….an illegitimate occupation of the Argies land? This is John Humphry’s view from a while back:

‘A deal should be struck which establishes Argentinian sovereignty over the islands while allowing the islanders to remain British and which perhaps shares the spoils of oil exploration.’

No doubt about that…the Falklands are Argentinian.”

THE FALKLANDS….

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So, it’s a moment in time. 30 years ago, the United Kingdom under the leadership of arch-BBC hate figure Margaret Thatcher, went to war with Argentina to defend the British people of the Falklands.  I was just our of University so my memory of BBC coverage at the time is cloudy. Can you recall how it was treated? This morning, on Today, there was an interview @ 8.20am with one of those soldiers who had fought in the battle for the Falklands, and the widow of one of our brave men who had died during the campaign. You know the inevitable question that was coming from the BBC correspondent Caroline Wyatt, don’t you? Yes – was it worth it? Back shot the answer, an unequivocal YES! The BBC must have been sickened with that and I am sure they will work hard to find somone who fought in the Falklands and now regrets it.

People ask if we have the military capability to wage a similar campaign in the south Atlantic 30 years on. I would phrase it differently. How would the BBC treat such a military campaign 30 years on? Based on its coverage of Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, the drumbeat of total opposition to war would be loud. And given the emergence of the 24 hour news cycle, would popular support for such a campaign be sustainable? There is a very real question here that needs consideration – is the UK capable of fighting and winning a war when the State Broadcaster has such a grip over the news cycle and can therefore influence and direct public opinion. What say you?

MERCOSUR

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Wonder what you make of this story on the BBC news portal concerning the decision by a South American trading bloc to close its ports to ships flying the Falkland Islands flag.

Mercosur, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, came to the decision at a summit in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo.

Now then, South American hostility towards the British Falklands  is hardly a recent phenomenon but I was sickened by the fact that the BBC chooses to run the Argentinian claim to sovereignty as the lead image to accompany the story. We’ve come a long way from 1982. Thoughts?

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Classic BBC Cringe

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The BBC’s Wendy Urquhart enters the realms of “beyond parody” in this butt-clenchingly PC report about the anniversary of the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands (or “the Falkland Islands or Las Malvinas” as they are apparently known when they’re not simply “Las Malvinas”) :

A solemn day in Argentina. Thousands gather to pay their respects, but the issue of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, or Las Malvinas, is clearly one that’s far from settled. President Cristina Kirchner told the crowds that it was a time to remember those they’d lost but it was most definitely not a time to forget about Las Malvinas and vowed to keep pushing for ownership of the islands…

Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, or Las Malvinas, on April 2nd 1982…

The Falklands, or Las Malvinas, lie just 300 miles form the coast of Argentina and have been claimed at one time or another by Britain, France, Spain and Argentina…

The two nations appear to agree that war is not the answer, but Argentina wants Las Malvinas back and President Kirchner is determined to make that happen.

This week’s From Our Own Correspondent also included an Argentinian perspective on the Falklands War. Nothing from our brethren islanders with their unpleasantly positive views about Margaret Thatcher, though. Funny, that.

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