War In The Falkland Islands

Brazil Reiterates Support for Argentina over Falklands

The British lion south of the border is looking more than a tad scrofulous these days.

On 29 July in the wake of a meeting between Argentinean President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia, the pair issued a joint communiqué in which Brazil reaffirmed its support for Argentina’s claim to the Falkland islands, which Buenos Aires refers to the as Malvinas.

Brazil reiterated its intention of banning all Falklands’ flagged vessels from calling at Brazilian ports and described as “illegal” the current British oil exploration in the Falkland Islands’ territorial waters.

The communiqué noted, “The President of Brazil reiterates the support of the country to the legitimate rights of the Argentine republic in the sovereignty dispute relative to the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich islands and its adjoining maritime spaces,” adding that “this position stands on the long tradition of Brazilian diplomacy in support for the Argentine claim and which is based on the deep rooted historic event of 1833 when through an act of force Argentina was expulsed from the Malvinas territory.”

In the specific paragraph dedicated to shipping the communiqué stated that “The President of the Federative Republic of Brazil reaffirms its commitment with the 26 November 2010 UNASUR (Unión de Naciones Suramericanas: Union of South American Nations) Declaration to adopt in conformity with International Law and respective domestic legislations, all measures susceptible of being regulated to impede the access to its ports of vessels flying the ‘illegal’ colors of the Malvinas Islands.”

The joint release also emphasized Brazil’s and Argentina’s solidarity by labeling Britain’s current hydrocarbons prospecting in Falkland waters as “illegal,” adding that the explorations along the Argentine continental shelf “are unilateral actions incompatible with the resolutions of United Nations on the matter and to not contribute at all to reach a definitive solution to the dispute.” Finally, lest the mandarins of Whitehall be in any doubt as to where Brazilian sympathies lay, Article 26 of the joint communiqué noted that the Argentine President Kirchner thanked Brazil for its standing support in this question, so sensitive, and in particular for its the support in a 21 June meeting of the UN Special Decolonization Committee.

Ah, “Iron Maiden” Prime Minister Thatcher would have known what to do with those stroppy Argies – assemble a task force and kick them back to Buenos Aires, which is what she did in 1982, in a brief but violent conflict that noted Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges compared to “two bald men fighting over a comb.

Son of British vet of Falkland Islands war becomes a citizen of ...

Was not politically motivated but rather a move meant to make it easier for him to see his Argentine-born children, which he discovered was difficult for him because of his British passport, reports said.

The 42-year-old artist lives in Buenos Aires and had recently separated from the mother of his children.

Peck's father fought for the British in the 10-week war that left hundreds dead on both sides after Argentina invaded the territory on April 2, 1982, under order of the then-ruling military dictatorship. Argentina still claims sovereignty over the islands, which are known as the Malvinas in Spanish.

Peck's story has played somewhat sourly in the British media, particularly since Kirchner bluntly criticized British Prime Minister David Cameron late last week.

Kirchner said Britian is " a crude colonial power in decline " and that Cameron's recent comments that the Falkland Islands should remain a British territory are an expression "of mediocrity, and almost of stupidity."

In an interview published Monday, Peck said he was unprepared for insults and the charges of treason he's received from some islanders. "I've had messages saying that if I go back I'll be shot," he said.

-- Daniel Hernandez in Mexico City

Photo: Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner with new citizen James Peck in Buenos Aires.