Justice continues to move forward in Argentina for the victims of the Dirty War. This is certainly good news as it will probably be the greatest assurance that something like that will never happen again. All credit to President Nestor Kirchner for being so supportive.
On the other hand, Kirchner is succumbing to the rankest nationalism in his position on the Falkland Islands:
In April, Argentina's president, Nestor Kirchner, marked the anniversary of the war's inception by saying the islands "must be a national objective of all Argentines," adding that "we must recover them for our homeland."
In June, he announced the creation of a top-level parliamentary group dedicated to winning back the disputed islands, which Argentina claims were forcibly seized by British settlers in 1833.
Cooler heads reside among the youth:
But many younger Argentines don't share the current government's enthusiasm.
"These islands have already caused years of dispute," says arts student Magdalena Bustamante, who was 2 years old when the 1982 conflict broke out. "Even though they are geographically with our territory, I don't think that is sufficient reason for us to appropriate them."
Buenos Aires resident Fernando Arias says most Argentines are not bothered by the issue. But he adds: "Should the British give it back? I would say 'yes' because we feel the British stole them from us. Should they be English? Not more than Hong Kong or Gibraltar."
Of course Hong Kong is no longer British, but with any number of greater priorities for Kirchner to focus on, why waste time with this?
I don't know Randy - the only time I really lived in Buenos Aires was almost six years ago now, so maybe the memory has faded a little more, but I found that quite a few Argentines still made a big fuss about the Malvinas. There is still a sign at the border pass between Mendoza and Santiago that says, "Las malvinas son nuestras." Of course there are some cooler heads, but it really surprised me how people whose intelligence I respected had a very personal response to the subject.
Maybe Kirchner is preparing a distraction from the double-digit inflation that is just around the corner....
Posted by: bcgreene | August 20, 2006 at 11:36 PM
A lot of water has run under the bridge since then (including the economic meltdown), but I'm sure that there were plenty of Malvinas son nuestras acolytes, as there were Belice es nuestro acolytes when I went to Guatemala.
However, the younger generation I'm sure has much more on their minds. I agree with you. I think Kirchner is pandering and shame on him for doing so.
Posted by: Randinho | August 21, 2006 at 12:21 PM