MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“War veteran Day”

During the main ceremony held at the Malvinas Memorial in Buenos Aires' Plaza San Martín, Defence Minister Horacio Jaunarena said in a short speech that the “armed option was definitively discarded”, and added that April 2nd., --officially declared “War Veteran Day”--, was the occasion “to pay homage to the soldiers that went to Malvinas”.

From the Vatican Argentine President De la Rúa, on an official state visit, sent a message remembering the courage and heroism of all those who participated in the conflict, and simultaneously stressed that peaceful means, exclusively, are the solution to "our legitimate claim" over Falklands sovereignty. Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Juan Carlos Mugnolo considered the Malvinas war one of the most "outstanding episodes" of Argentine history, which has had its "successes and failures", and said he trusted Malvinas sovereignty sill be recovered in the "near future" by diplomatic means. General Mugnolo underlined that having included April 2nd, as War Veterans Day, in the official Argentine calendar was proof of the growing reconciliation between civilian society and the military. However the general also recalled that to complete the reconciliation process, "we all have to say all the truth and forget past hatreds". According to the Argentine press, General Mugnolo was referring to the recent 25th anniversary of the 1976 military coup which was signaled by repudiation demonstrations in all Argentina, and a judicial ruling that could open the way for indicting officers allegedly involved in human rights violations. In downtown Buenos Aires small groups of radicals burnt British and American flags chanting, "out the English from Malvinas", and "out the yanks from Latinamerica".

Patagonia exhibition

"Perito Moreno and Patagonia, 100 years later" is the name of the exhibition inaugurated this week in the London Royal Geographic Society that according to the initial response promises to become a public favorite. Perito Moreno was an Argentine pioneer and surveyor who a century ago explored Patagonia becoming famous for the glaciers he discovered and all the information meticulously recorded and collected. Besides showing some of Mr. Moreno's books with text, maps and diagrams first published in 1879 by the Buenos Aires daily La Nación, the exhibit will contrast some of his century old sepia pictures with the current scenery. Actually many of the original texts and maps are in custody of the Royal Geographic Society because Mr. Moreno had an ongoing relation with the En