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Penguin News Update.

Headlines:
War historian: ?I've been full and fair';
Mail investigation;
Competition images capture Islands' beauty.

Competition images capture Islands' beauty

THE winners have been announced in the Photographic Competition run by the Falkland Islands Tourist Board. The international panel of judges made their final decision on Tuesday and chose an image captured on Carcass Island by Italian photographer Ciaccio Andrea for the top prize, a return flight to the Falklands from London. A selection of the photographs submitted for the competition will be on show - such as this image (right) which won the Commander of British Forces, Commodore Ian Moncrieff, the top prize in the military section - at the Jetty Visitor's Centre for a week, beginning tomorrow (Saturday). More coverage of the competition on centre pages.

War historian: ?I've been full and fair'

THE author of the newly-released Official History of the Falklands Campaignhas assured Islanders, "I have made every effort to tell the story fully and fairly." Sir Lawrence Freedman's book, which was released on Tuesday, is the first comprehensive history of the 1982 war and has created a stir in the British and Argentine press. The two volumes reveal that some of the British task force ships carried nuclear weapons during the war, confirms the valuable help given to Britain by the United States and Chile, examines controversial military actions such as the sinking of the Argentine cruiser Belgrano and HMS Sheffield, discusses the tensions over media reporting, and exposes the British Government's secret talks with Argentina over the transfer of titular sovereignty in return for a long lease-back period of continuing British rule. Professor Freedman this week told Penguin News he knew there would be a lot of press interest in the book, "...and that some of the stories - nuclear weapons, Belgrano, Chile - were likely to make headlines." However, he was annoyed that the first story, in the Mail on Sunday, was so wrong, "...for example, on what I say about sovereignty or that this book was in some ways tied to Tony Blair -I was originally approached to write the book under John Major." To Professor Freedman ?Official History' is an awkward title, "...because people assume that this must mean you are speaking for the government, although it only means that I was commissioned by the government and had complete access to archives. "Because there was a strict embargo on interviews I was unable to counter the inaccurate early stories. I hope that now people are able to read the book they can judge for themselves its quality and conclusions." He said from early on he believed that, in writing the Official History, the best way to deal with the most controversial questions, "...was to stay close to the evidence and avoid too much speculation or editorialising." Professor Freedman disagreed that there seemed to be a contradiction in his apparent conclusion that the British government had no prior knowledge of the planned invasion, yet the RAF appeared to be saying the previous year that they could not defend the Falkland Islands against Argentine aggression. He argued, "There is no contradiction. The military believed that the Falklands were essentially indefensible. When the question was put this is how they replied." The question however, Professor Freedman said, was hypothetical. "My book confirms that the government only really understood what was underway on March 31, 1982, although there was a growing recognition that they could face a serious problem some time in 1982." The historian said the secret talks held by then Foreign Office (FCO) Minister Nicholas Ridley, while seeming to confirm suspicions Islanders had of ?double dealing' by the FCO, in fact showed the British resolve that Islanders' wishes were paramount. He said, "It is true that the FCO felt that any attempt to work out a deal with the Argentines had to be covert, because otherwise this would be denounced as a betrayal. But Ridley always made clear to the Argentines that he had to get Islander approval. "The government view was that the Islanders must not be coerced into an agreement. They had to come to accept a deal themselves, without prompting. However they never were going to do so. "Whether they would have taken a different view if the government had been more explicit about its interests and concerns I do not know, but my impression is that Islanders would at least have preferred a more honest approach." Continued on page 3.

Mail investigation

APPARENT "violation" of mail en route to the Falklands and elsewhere via Mill Hill in the United Kingdom is being investigated by police. The Royal Falkland Islands Police have been asked to assist Ministry of Defence police in a widespread investigation into thefts of mail from within the system at the United Kingdom end. According to a statement released by police this week, a person has been arrested on suspicion of theft of mail and, "...the investigation is progressing well," however, "it would not be appropriate to comment any further at this stage due to the ongoing investigation. Detectives from both forces are in constant contact." Postmaster Moira Eccles confirmed that any apparent mail irregularities discovered by postal staff in Stanley are reported back to Royal Mail for clarification and possible investigation. "Royal Mail confirms that any security issues are treated seriously and investigated fully by their security team." Mrs. Eccles said customers who suspect that they may have mail missing are advised to contact the sender, "...especially if it involves credit cards or correspondence from their overseas bank accounts as the sender is the person who has the facts about when and where an item entered the mail system." When questioned by Penguin Newsyesterday afternoon, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence's UK press office said she was unaware of the investigation and therefore felt unable to comment, however she hoped to be able to do so in the very near future.

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