MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands lawmaker meets Red Cross chief to discuss identification of Argentine soldiers remains
The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, met on Monday with representatives of the authorities of the United Kingdom and of the Falkland Islands to discuss a process seeking to identify the remains of a number of unidentified Argentine soldiers buried at Darwin cemetery in Falklands/Malvinas Islands. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesI see the Argentine government still has not contacted the FIG, preferring to do it via a third party, the ICRC. Is this an attempt to save face by not talking directly to the “squatters”? If so, it is doomed to fail and they are going to have to man up and talk nicely to the legitimate authority in the Islands
Nov 04th, 2015 - 07:19 am - Link - Report abuse 0@1 Hugh
Nov 04th, 2015 - 07:32 am - Link - Report abuse 0The Argentine government still actually hasn't contacted the ICRC! Check out the ICRC webpage. After a brief search you can bring up all the contact that Argentina has had with the ICRC over the Falklands, all dutifully recorded and listed. Nowhere does it mention any request. Strange that the ICRC wouldn't mention this request, considering how they've recorded every other contact.
This is a masterful stroke by the FIG. By contacting the ICRC themselves they are cutting the floor out from under Argentina, and are going to force Argentina's governments hand.
What started out as a way to try and divert attention away from the loss of their yacht to Falklands authorities, will now backfire and make the Argentine government look inept and ridiculous. But nothing new there.
Also because the Argentine government are using their war dead as a political tool, the FIG could ask that the ICRC disinters all of the bodies and repatriate them to Argentina. Whether the FIG will do that is another matter, as they respect the Argentine war dead far more than any Argentine government ever has.
Would be interesting to hear FIG's take on this, though I suspect they will be quite cautious.
Nov 04th, 2015 - 09:26 am - Link - Report abuse 0FIG are just explaining to ICRC that IF ICRC receives a formal request from Argentina then the relevant Authority that will have to be consulted - and who would then be taking final decisions on how and when and by whom - IF anything - will be FIG - and ARG will have inevitably to talk direct to FIG at some stage.
Nov 04th, 2015 - 09:55 am - Link - Report abuse 0@4 lslander1,
Nov 04th, 2015 - 10:30 am - Link - Report abuse 0l'm looking forward to seeing/hearing Argentina squirming & wriggling as they are forced to talk to FIG!
Whats the betting that Argentina abruptly drops the whole issue?
That's the whole point of ICRC . People can send messages to people they won't talk to, even reach agreements with people they won't admit exist.
Nov 04th, 2015 - 11:08 am - Link - Report abuse 0Until the families of the dead all agree to examination, though, there won't be one, and when and if the families do agree, the Argentine government can be used simply for convenience or even disregarded completely.
Both the FIG and UK Government are playing this really smart.
Nov 04th, 2015 - 12:04 pm - Link - Report abuse 0They are being accommodating to the Red Cross.
They are making it clear who is in charge of the FI.
Thus should Argentina pursue this further the Red Cross are in a position to tell them what is what.
Of course the Argentina tactic of belittling and insulting the people of the FI won't wash with the Red Cross.
As I understand it, not all argie families have agreed to exhumation. What is argieland hoping for? To be told it can send a team and dig everything up? And if “permissions” were produced, who's to say that they were signed by the actual family?
Nov 04th, 2015 - 01:11 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I reckon FIG should insist that ALL the bodies be dug up. Forensic examination by British scientists, paid for by argieland. All photographed. Then ship the lot to argieland, paid for by argieland. All payments to be in dollars. Real dollars.
Get rid of the problem for good.
Just wondering...does anyone think that were the remains be repatriated to Argentina that the families would get to respectfully and quietly re-inter them or would the Argentine Government make a big song and dance about it with huge parades with coffins draped with flags showing a map of the FI on gun-carriages etc. A big ceremonial that all the world's media would be invited to and no doubt issued with a book explaining their 'rights' to the FI all the while bleating that the dastardly Brits wouldn't let them have their sons back until the Red Cross intervened on Argentina's behalf and so on..and so on...
Nov 04th, 2015 - 02:33 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Anybody any thoughts??
@ 9 darragh. You are no doubt correct. TMBOA would be certain to try a sick stunt like that, but, maybe after the elections in the dark country, the new president , macri i am referring to, i think he is the one who came 2nd in the first round, will be a little bit more humane to his fellow countrymen. I would also agree with Conqueror @8 in so much as how will we know that all the families are in agreement, Its very tricky, we should do the right thing by the families but you just cant trust TMBOA and tinman to be honest and truthful but they can be relied upon to be dishonest, disrespectful and twisted in the head.
Nov 04th, 2015 - 02:50 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Just ask yourself why any family who have their relative(s) identified and named would agree to them being dug up for DNA testing.
Nov 04th, 2015 - 05:40 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The mere thought of the DNA testing proving it's NOT their relative interred in that grave would be worrying in the extreme.
None starter then.
Study finds UK is second most powerful country in the world
Nov 04th, 2015 - 08:37 pm - Link - Report abuse 0https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/study-finds-uk-is-second-most-powerful-country-in-the-world/
Read it ??
perhaps more persuasion is required.
just saying like.
@5 Isolde
Nov 04th, 2015 - 09:27 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Whats the betting that Argentina abruptly drops the whole issue?”
No doubt.
However, if they wanted to pursue this, they could make a big thing about, 'not accepting the situation' but still talking to the FIG 'under protest' in order to get the situation resolved.
But I'm not betting against what you say, as Argentina's leaders usually disappear under a stone (i.e it's gone quiet about arresting Falkland oil workers, British subs in the South Atlantic, (etc etc ad nauseum).
Now, MLAs are now countering much of Argentina's falsehoods by actively challenging them (rather than ignoring them) as in this case.
Although assisted by the UK, it shows the Islanders increasingly have their own voice, something Argentina desperately wants to supress.
However, Argentina have stuck the stick down the wasp's nest so many times, and now the wasp's are coming out to attack them.
Well, Argies, if you keep poking at the nest..........
Where is hepatia when you need him / her / it / them? After all... we will be returning the Falklands in somethingty something years and they can DNA test the fallen then without worrying about ICRC, FIG or the British government.
Nov 04th, 2015 - 10:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0TWIMC
Nov 04th, 2015 - 11:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Article says...:
FIG............ invites the ICRC to explain............ how they can gain the confidence of Falkland Islanders that they would have a strictly neutral position in any supervisory role they might play.”
I say...:
Geeeeeeeeeeeeee....
That's the International Red Cross you are talking about, possums !!!
A perfect example of the chuzpah, siege mentality, paranoia and haughtiness of the new generation of squatting kelpers and their Engrish masters...
@15 Think
Nov 05th, 2015 - 06:33 am - Link - Report abuse 0You don't seem capable of “thinking” - you allege the islanders have a “siege mentality”! Why would that be? Argentina, by any chance? Boludo!
Whats the matter Thinky-boy?
Nov 05th, 2015 - 07:29 am - Link - Report abuse 0Jealous?
Frustrated?
Abandoned?
lgnored?
You & your excuse for a country will NOT get your own way, so you can just ………, go away.
You would have thought this was a subject that even the Argies could and would not Troll.
Nov 05th, 2015 - 09:17 am - Link - Report abuse 0How wrong I was.
Argentina has taken every opportunity to insult and belittle the people of the Falkland Islands.
When the Islanders fight back, Argentina gets into a hissy fit and starts to cry.
Given the years of abuse the islanders have suffered from Argentina, They are not going to trust anything Argentina says or mere bits of paper.
Perhaps now Argentina will complain that the Islanders had no right to go to the Red Cross?
Argentina has to wake up, smell the coffee and realise the people of the Falkland Islands are not going anywhere and have to be talked to not talked at ! And if the Falkland Islanders disagree with Argentina they will say so.
The ICRC is constitutionally obliged to have a strictly neutral position in any role they play.
Nov 05th, 2015 - 09:26 am - Link - Report abuse 0States call on the Red Cross to act as a neutral go-between only when normal communication is impossible for reasons of war for example or where there are no diplomatic relations between states. But the FIs are peaceful, there is no risk to the Argentinian families who visit the graves as has been established over many years, and the UK and Argentina “enjoy” full diplomatic relations. So there is absolutely no need to involve the Red Cross when Argentina could simply make its request to the proper authority with the responsibility for the cemetery, that is FIG. Can Argentina even begin to explain credibly why they need a go-between? Cause clearly Thinko can't.
Nov 05th, 2015 - 01:08 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@20 Redrow
Nov 06th, 2015 - 09:14 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Can Argentina even begin to explain credibly why they need a go-between?”
No I can't (logically, i.e.to achieve what they claim to want).
I suspect it's to avoid talking to people that 'don't exist' at all costs-like trying to run a marathon with a 70 lb load -unless you are super fit till old age, you can't do it forever.
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