FALKLAND ISLANDS: Thirty years after the Falklands war ended, islands prepare to commemorate the event

Record ID: 773906

  • Title: FALKLAND ISLANDS: Thirty years after the Falklands war ended, islands prepare to commemorate the event
  • Date: 12th June 2012
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF PHOTO OF HEATHMEN FAMILY WITH BRITISH SOLDIERS IN JUNE 1982
  • Embargoed: 27th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
  • Country: Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
  • Topics: Conflict,History
  • Reuters ID: LVA93S6G9JKAE7EWKSQDBZ4477UY
  • Story Text: Amidst snow and Union Jack flags, Falkland Islanders are preparing to remember the 30th anniversary of the war against the Argentines that revolutionised the economy of the South Atlantic outpost.
    Argentine invaded the islands on April 2, 1982, but surrendered to British troops 74 days later on June 14. The conflict killed about 650 Argentines and 255 British troops.
    Buenos Aires has intensified pressure on London to negotiate sovereignty in the run-up the anniversary, but Britain says it will only agree to talks if the 3,000 islanders want them. The Kelpers, as the local residents are known, show no sign of wanting Argentine rule.
    Jan Cheek, a local lawmaker, said the international podium provided by the anniversary was a rare showcase for the isolated archipelago to show how far they've come since the war.
    "With the 30th anniversary the people feel very strongly that this is possibly our last opportunity to show our gratitude to the many of the veterans who came to liberate the islands in 1982, so it's very special on that account. But it's also an opportunity to show what we have done in the islands since the war, to make all that unhappiness and sacrifice worth while. We feel we have developed the island in a way we couldn't have dreamed of before 1982," Cheek said.
    Before the war, Britain had all but forgotten about the islands it had controlled since 1833. To make matters worse, prices had fallen on wool, the islands' main source of income.
    When the war was over, Margaret Thatcher gave the islanders' rights to fishing licenses, injecting the local economy with money. Local residents were suddenly economically comfortable and tourism grew, and recent oil exploration could mean billions of dollars in taxes and royalties for the Kelpers.
    An exhibition in Stanley showed pictures of British prisoners of war and locals walking amongst Argentine tanks. Speakers piped in audio from local radio accounts of the war as people looked over pictures of the leader of British troops Major General Sir John Jeremy Moore.
    One of the photos showed the Heathman family, who have a farm outside Stanley and gave British troops food and shelter during the war.
    Tony Heathman and his wife Ailsa still live on the farm. Heathman said he doesn't want to have anything to do with the Argentines, but that the war put the islands back on the map.
    "Well this war really put us back on the map again. They've done us a favour I think by putting all their complaints and claims and everything. We were sort of getting left in the bylines. But now we've been put back on the map again. And I don't know what to think about the Argentines really. They're just there. They're just a blooming pain really, complaining all the time and everything. I don't really know. I'm not political one way or another but I certainly don't want Argentine sovereignty anyway," Heathman said.
    While the war is widely seen as a mistake by the discredited military dictatorship ruling at the time, most Argentines think the islands belong to Argentina and they remain a potent national symbol in the South American country.
    The craggy outline of the islands, which Britain has controlled since 1833, is a familiar sight on T-shirts and posters. Newspapers carry a daily weather forecast for the Malvinas, as the islands are called in Spanish.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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