Re: Malvinas etc

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

During the war between Argentina and Great Britain, the bourgeois
media made it appear that Argentina had a totally irrational desire
to forcibly assimilate people living on an island who had no
linguistic or cultural ties to the mainland. Furthermore, the
islanders appeared to be a rather quaint lot devoted to harmless
activities such as sheep-herding, kidney pies and Anglican hymns.
This, of course, is the subtext to Xxxx Xxxxxx's pro-imperialist
apologetics. He can't understand why socialists would want to back
the annihilation of such gentle folk. In reality, the clash over the
Malvinas involved the same basic issues as are at play in Afghanistan
today.

----

U.S. News & World Report, June 7, 1982

At the Heart Of Battle for The Falklands

By WILLIAM L. CHAZE

All but obscured by the smoke and fury of the Falklands war is a
conflict rooted deep in antiquity and with implications that spread
far beyond the South Atlantic.

The dispute did not suddenly materialize with Argentina's seizure of
the islands on April 2. Nor are the warring British and Argentines
the only parties affected by the violence in that remote part of the
world.

What lies behind the conflict? Why could the two not peacefully
settle their differences? What value do the Falklands have? From
diplomatic sources, historians and other experts come these answers--

Argentina, after winning independence from Spain in 1816, took over
what it called the ''Malvinas,'' claiming right of succession to all
Spanish properties off the mainland. The British, who at first did
not protest the action, later insisted the islands were theirs by
right of discovery and prior occupancy. But the British did not go
back to the Falklands until after a U.S. warship in 1881 destroyed an
Argentine settlement at Soledad in a sealing dispute. Afterwards, the
Americans declared the islands free of all governments.

..Britain and Argentina waited until 1970 to begin talks that lasted
until early this year. The two agreed on some things, but not on the
key issue of ownership. Compromise was blocked by refusal of 1,800
Falklanders to give up British citizenship.

The British have ruled the islands as a colony for nearly 150 years,
with a governor appointed by the Queen and a locally elected council.
For most of its history, defense has been left to a small garrison of
royal marines--about 80 at the time of the attack. Immigration has
been tightly restricted, and Argentine citizens could not buy land
there without special permission.

The islands are regarded as valuable for their strategic importance
and potential resources. Their location at the gateway to Antarctica
puts them within striking distance of shipping traffic plying the
Cape Horn route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Moreover, the ocean bed near the Falklands is believed to contain
vast amounts of oil and natural gas. Lying to the east is one of the
world's largest unexplored sedimentary basins, geologic formations in
which gas and oil can be trapped. Exploratory wells nearer the
Argentine mainland have produced encouraging results.

Its move to seize the archipelago also has intensified concern that
Buenos Aires will decide to press claims to Antarctic lands,
potentially an even richer source of minerals.

Fallout may not be limited to U.S.-Latin American relations. The
British warships lost in the South Atlantic were important to the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization. An already hard-pressed U.S. must
fill the gap.

-----

The Independent (London), January 1, 1997, Wednesday

Oil fever fuels new war over Falklands
by James Cusick

The prospect of the Falkland Islands becoming one of the world's
oil-rich elite communities may have contributed to the Argentine
government's renewal of sovereignty claims.

As a dozen of the world's leading oil companies explore potential oil
fields around the South Atlantic British colony, where the deposits
may be one-and-a-half times the size of those in the North Sea,
President Carlos Menem has issued a statement asserting that Britain
should consider sharing sovereignty.

President Menem said that by 2000 he hoped "we will see the Argentine
flag flying in the islands, either by itself or alongside other
flags". He added: "If the Argentine flag flies alongside the British
flag, that would be a step forward." Although no firm geological data
has confirmed the presence of economically viable quantities of oil,
this has not stopped the island's 2,400 residents from making plans
about how their resources will be marshalled.

During the licensing organisation period, the Falklands government
estimated potential earnings from two hypothetical fields coming on
stream. Yields of 250 million and 500 million barrels were forecast.
This would net the islands an average of pounds 1.1bn a year over a
20-year period, the equivalent of pounds 483,653 for every man, woman
and child in the islands.


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