A Brief Follow-up by the Guest Writer of the Previous Post
♦
Since 1982, the diplomatic position of the British state on the Falklands-Malvinas sovereignty issue has deteriorated markedly from an already weak condition.
♦
Britain no longer has any support among the countries of Latin America.
♦
The US does not recognise Britain’s sovereignty claim and has been urging Britain to enter into discussions with Argentina on the sovereignty issue.
♦
Russia has questioned Britain’s claims and senior politicians have highlighted the brazen hypocrisy of Britain’s stance on the issue of self determination for the people of Crimea.
♦
♦
China unequivocally backs Argentina’s sovereignty claims.
♦
The EU currently takes no position on the sovereignty issue but accepts Britain’s de facto administration of the Falklands-Malvinas on the basis of solidarity among member states, despite having a number of member states with profound and undisguised sympathy with Argentina’s claims. Surely, even this position of neutrality will disintegrate post-Brexit.
♦
Currently, the only countries I have been able to identify that continue to support the British arguments are Canada and Taiwan. (The latter for very obvious and self-serving reasons, Jac.)
♦
This must surely be the time for Wales, Scotland and Ireland to use the next meeting of the British-Irish Council to join the international consensus in urging the British state to commence discussions with Argentina immediately on the Falklands-Malvinas sovereignty issue.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ End ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jac adds . . . Until I started looking for links for this piece I hadn’t realised myself just how isolated Britain now is on the issue.
While digging I also came across the recently broken story that Israel had supplied Argentina with weapons during the war. Hardly surprising perhaps, given that Buenos Aires has one of the largest Jewish communities outside of Israel. So with Jewish boys in the conscript army we should not be surprised by this revelation.
Though many of the accounts I read, including the one linked to, personalise it by attributing the decision to Israel’s prime minister at the time, Menachem Begin, who had fought against the British in the late 1940s. He was even quoted as having invoked the name of an old Irgun comrade hanged by the British by way of justification.
Other reports of this revelation inevitably described Begin as a ‘terrorist’, which got me to thinking . . . Why is it that all my life I have heard people around the world described as terrorists by the British media and British politicians – did these people come to England and terrorise people?
Of course not, these ‘terrorists’ – De Valera, Kenyatta, Grivas and all the rest – were in their own countries, defending their own peoples. Theirs was a fight against imperialism. Yet the British/English interpretation is that the empire was benevolence manifest, consequently only unhinged terrorists could want to break the imperial connection.
With the empire gone and England becoming isolationist the focus has changed, now the ‘enemy’ is anyone who isn’t English. Anyone who is different, and that includes us Welsh, unless of course we submit to the will of the xenophobes and reject everything that makes us Welsh. For in the new dispensation, to stand up for Wales and Welshness is to be an intolerant and divisive nationalist (© T. May).
This new and ugly Englishness, and all its ranting prophets and hangers-on – particularly those in Wales – must be treated with a combination of contempt and ridicule. And if that fails, then we must do to them as they do to others and shout them down.
This is no time to retreat to the moral high ground. Fight fire with fire.
♦
You have to have lived in Argentina to appreciate the folly of what you write.
Dont the people of the falklands islands get a say , surely the only people whose voice really counts is theirs.
Unable to reply to Marconatrix for some reason at 00.58 so this is my reply to him. You say you read my response as ‘I’d like to speak Welsh but it is much too hard and there’s no help available’. Well here is the first problem, You have selective hearing and poor comprehension skills. I think you have an agenda and are bound to twist my meaning so I am going to continue to correct you on what I am saying no matter how much you want to to avoid and deflect.
The content of your posts if read carefully do not answer my statements, which I want to make clear, Your comments don’t actually have much content or debate in them at all and your continual responses are just dull chaff meant to shut down debate and make it look like you have something to add when in fact there is nothing there. Your comments are insulting by making ad hominem attacks with condescending ‘chip on shoulder’ statements. Not only that but you make all these assumptions without the slightest bit of evidence, just restatements of things I have not said or were not meant in the way you frame them. This is a problem we in Wales have with experienced debaters who wish to steer the issues away from the ‘hot issues’. Learn debate and logic guys, comprehend everything they have said and spell it out.
For instance a classic example of strawman tactic, is where you say “just as long as you don’t disparage others desire to speak Welsh and their desire to do so”. Now you well know that nowhere have I stated such a thing but your insinuation is to deflect from the comments made by others initially that were disparaging of English speaking Welsh people and reframe it as if I did the insulting. So let’s get this straight, Welsh speakers commenting are saying that English speaking Welsh are lazy for not learning Welsh and also therefore imply that they have a duty to speak Welsh. So don’t forget this part. All English speaking Welsh are being attacked.
My stance in a nutshell is that 1.Welsh speakers who think that English speaking Welsh people have a duty to learn Welsh are misguided. History has not gone that way. 2. Welsh identity is more centred around the English speaking Welsh than the minority Welsh speakers and are the future of a robust Wales. 3 Welsh is not easy to learn when someone is older hence the difficulty to increase Welsh speaking numbers. Saying it is easy tries to shame English speaking Welsh out of the cultural debate. These people are not lazy. 4. The colonising process has fuelled much of this, not the English speaking Welsh who are taking the main brunt. 5. Some Welsh speakers are disingenuous when it comes to Welsh independence. 6 Widescale Welsh lesson provision has not been provided by Welsh speakers for some bizarre reason when I am sure there would be substantial demand if marketed even half competently. 7. Welsh is a beautiful language that has been squeezed out and good luck to those who wish to continue its use.
So Marco there’s a list there that you can address if you wish to add something of substance to the debate. Otherwise don’t bother. My fathers side all spoke Welsh to each other and some of my Welsh mothers side did too. What is your stake in this? Please answer.
I am from a typical Welsh background that has experienced colonisation but even if I spoke Welsh myself, my points would still stand. Now you can carry on with your pathetic, boring and tired out ‘chip on shoulder’ insults and deflections, I don’t care go for it. I won’t even start to contemplate what weird attitudes you might be carrying around on your shoulders. I have shown however that personal grievance is not driving my attitude just defending against the bad will of others. Isn’t it strange that the main commenters trying to shut this down is a concerned friend from over the border. Even stranger is the addition of so called supporters of Welsh interests. No one else going to chime in on this?
I´m going to leave this to the other folks now, but thank you for setting out your numbered points, that does help clarify where you´re coming from. I honestly don´t have a dog in this fight, so I´ll leave it those who have a real stake in the survival of Wales, the language etc. However I do find it odd that if as you say my posts have no substance, then why do you even bother to respond, never mind answering at some length?
OK, I´m otta here … pob hwyl i chi …
I reply because people who read your comments might make the mistake that you actually said something of relevance. It is quite easy to distract with irrelevant points. It was a lengthy reply because I had to unpack a lot of your irrelevant fallacies and reiterate my meaning. Your over but not quite out last comment is a great example of contradiction and hints with one last breath that you have the real answers.
Personally, I think it is vital to keep Cymraeg alive, besides it being intrinsic to the culture and history of Wales, it is also the most beautiful language in the World, but I’m biased! I wish my Welsh speaking Father had taught us Welsh and that it had not died out on my Mother’s side of the Family. I find it very difficult to learn languages, but I have made the decision to learn Cymraeg and my Family have too.
The obstacles you list would not exist, if Welsh was taught to a completely fluent level, in every school in Wales and within a Welsh historical and cultural context, it is that simple.
Your situation sounds very similar to mine in terms of Welsh spoken in the family. It is true that if everyone was taught Welsh then these obstacles would not exist and unity would be easier. But colonisation wasn’t halted when that was the situation not long ago. The effect of colonisation and pushing out the language is so profound however that it will never be reversed in the current setup and probably won’t be reversed under any other system. So learning Welsh isn’t a problem, I will probably keep having a go myself but it has little to do with the continuing disempowerment of the Welsh in Wales.
I think you are right about the effects of colonisation, this is the major issue that needs to be dealt with by the Welsh Government, but instead they have been encouraging colonisation through so called initiatives, like the One Planet Development. It’s a vicious circle, the Welsh have been disempowered, because they have no real power in the first place. The Irish do not have the same crisis of identity and threat to their culture, because they fought for their independence from England. The Scottish do not have the same level of threat to their culture through colonisation, as they are in control of their legal and education system, this gives them far more autonomy and confidence to protect their culture. This is what we have to fight for in Wales, more power to stop colonisation, which is a cancer to Welsh Culture. Nurturing our culture and our language is part of the same process to empowerment, but we need to have control over our legal and education system. Control over our education system will give all our children an innate confidence in our very unique identity and autonomy over our legal system, where we can make our own laws, independently from England, will protect the interests of the Welsh and will be empowering.
Control over education and the legal system is a good start. It will empower Welsh people if these institutions are used for the good of the Welsh. I think though there is an assumption that English speaking Welsh need to or want to go back to speaking Welsh. From their point of view, maybe more power and prospects will be enough without having to aim for a cultural ideal that is more important for others who retained the language.
There has to be more motivation for English speaking Welsh to strive for more power for Wales, than putting Wales back to the way it used to be in terms of the language. The motivation has to be to make Wales as it is presently a better place to live, with or without the language. If the drive does not come from that attitude then I don’t think many English speaking Welsh will be concerned enough to push for independence. The problem for Welsh speaking communities is that they either push for their right to not be colonised, which entails focussing the push for Welsh independence towards their situation, or they do nothing. I don’t think the rest of colonised Wales will see it their way though. A push for an independent Wales without cultural requirement may work out though.
Learning a language is a generational thing, that would be fixed if all schools became Welsh Medium. I can understand though, that it is a big ask for many Welsh people, who do not speak Welsh already, to focus on the language as the driving issue, in attaining more power for Wales. What is fundamental, is that we find a shared goal, which does unite us, regardless of our political colours, in attaining, as you mention, more power for Wales and a better way of life for us all. One of the most destructive aspects of colonialism is ‘Divide and Conquer’, it is therefor, more important than ever, that we all find common ground, which unites us all, not issues, that drive us apart.
“it is therefore, more important than ever, that we all find common ground, which unites us all, not issues, that drive us apart.”
Exactly.
Just to add, with regard to learning Welsh, I have found that the ‘Say something in Welsh’ programme to be really good and it has an excellent free App, to get started. As I mentioned before, I find learning languages a real challenge, but this app is really helpful and you take it at your own pace, without any pressure, here is the link:
https://www.saysomethingin.com/welsh
There is also loads of other free Welsh language stuff on line, once you start looking and there should be local classes, with learners of all levels.
What exactly has all this “my dad’s bigger than your dad” school yard crap got to do with the sovereignty of the Malvinas?
If you have an argument with someone, and he gives you a bloody nose, does that make his argument right and yours wrong?
This is the logic of cretins. Who gives a monkey’s f**k who has the most professional army? The debate is who has a right to the Malvinas. Is the English claim to the Malvinas valid, just because they stacked the island with their own stock, then gave them a referendum declaring it’s their island based on the result.
To me the answer is obvious. It also seems obvious to the majority of the nations of the earth. Classic imperialistic colony mentality.
The same applies to Cymru. People strut around declaring that if there was a referendum on independence, then the majority would vote against it. Why? Because our land has been stacked up to the rafters with people from England. The rest who oppose are ‘Welsh’ people from imported stock that came here during the industrial revolution – the ones I call the ‘hybrid Welsh’, not from a genetic standpoint (that counts for nothing and is the realm of racists), but from a linguistic, cultural and historical perspective.
The same applies to the Welsh language, when the colonising morons put up the argument that it doesn’t need to be supported because less than 20% speak it, and even less use it socially. Sadly because the public at large, are on the whole, gullible, easily led and unfortunately pretty ignorant of most things that have more depth that celebrity shows and soap operas they watch on TV – they believe the crap they hear from the ‘Britnat’ propagandists.
cywir. Spot on, and that issue relating to the disparaging of the native language is most pressing ( and depressing!).
The number of tossers strutting their stuff giving off noises like ” I’ve never needed the language, see” yet in the next breath coming out with “it’s not fair, all those f***in’ jobs that needs Welsh, it’s a racket, init”. Well had they bothered to get a passable working knowledge they would be in on that “racket” , but they prefer to mouth the usual negative platitudes and stand idly by as major institutions contrive to slowly strangle the language while claiming to conform to “language policy”. Sadly, HSBC is about the only business/institution that I deal with where I get a prompt answer in Welsh, a mix of native fluency and some evident recent learners, and to their credit they are able to call on a vocabulary which is well stocked with financial bullshit terms in Welsh. If they can do it so should others.
If it’s Welsh people fault they don’t speak Welsh, then don’t blame the English for the decrease in Welsh speakers. If you speak Welsh, then don’t play both the English are to blame card at the same time as playing the English speaking Welsh are to blame card. You can’t align those point of views for obvious reasons.
According to you the fact that so many Welsh people speak English only means they are lazy and deserving of hardship. Why does retaining the language mean that advantage should be had? Is there some sort of unofficial memo going around that most of us aren’t getting? It sounds a very cozy proposition for Welsh speakers indeed. Why do you want a democratic assembly when it would be easier without it for a minority to influence Welsh culture?
Is Wales supposed to be Welsh speaking? If so, point out the document that spells out such a creed. I suspect that the assertion comes from some Welsh speakers who obviously haven’t got a clue of what it is like to be robbed of heritage and have to get on regardless. It’s possible that Welsh speakers may become extremely rare. Will the few Welsh speakers that are left crow on about their heroic stand against the English and Welsh invaders?
Sounds like sour grapes to me. The thing is Welsh speaking is a skill like driving a car or being able to touch type. It´s not something that you´re born with, it´s something you learn and something that anyone can learn. Every Welsh speaker after all is pretty well obliged to learn English. If there are more or better paid jobs for Welsh speakers then get off your pen ôl, learn it and climb on the bandwagon yourself. We really don’t need to hear your continual pathetic whinging.
well you got that one right Marconatrix. You’re improving!
The Welsh language is an inheritance for ALL Welsh people. Or would you prefer to see it wiped out along with our ancient culture and historical existence ‘Anonymous’?
You need to brush up on your education when it comes to knowing what it’s actually all about. Maybe you would drop that chip you have on your shoulder and see it in a clearer light.
Marconatrix is right – it IS sour grapes. Don’t whine about it, get off your arse and put a bit of effort into expanding your knowledge and learning YOUR language. It is your inheritance, as it is mine. Welsh speakers whose first language is Welsh don’t have a monopoly over it. We are very proud and happy to share that inheritance.
Start HERE.
Welsh is not the inheritance of most Welsh people I am sorry to say. That is your fantasy. On the one hand if I say I am not bothered by not speaking Welsh I am a heathen if I say I am bothered it’s ‘sour grapes’.
Welsh was part of our history and culture but now not so much. That part of the mission has been pretty much accomplished unfortunately but why do you assume facing this fact means to throw out history and Welshness, I don’t have that problem. It is surreal to hear some Welsh speakers kicking up a fuss as if they are the last defence for Wales. Small enclaves claiming that they are the last front against English colonisation. That stage is mostly done and remaining Welsh speakers who think they are the last stand are deluded. The increased absorption into England is the next stage. This is not something I want to see happen but you whinging about English speaking Welsh is not going to slow the absorption stage.
As far as my education goes let’s not go there for your sake, not mine. Surely an educated person would realise that ‘anonymous’ is a practical choice in the Information Age.
It’s funny how you adopted the ‘chip on shoulder’ insult much loved by the English when condescending the Welsh, for this lowly English speaker. Less sour grapes Big G because it IS Sour grapes.
How sad that so many in Wales take the Welsh language for granted when so many here in Patagonia feel honoured and privileged to be able to speak it. It provides a living link with brave ancestors, not a memory of a downtrodden past. And, for those who master the language, many doors are open to them which otherwise would be closed. Our new school in Trevelin (www.ysgolycwm.com) has been built and funded purely by those in the Andes who retain a love for the language and it is now providing a level of education, with mainly Argentinean Welsh-speaking teachers, at least as good as that which is available in local state schools. This isn’t just Mickey Mouse Welsh being taught to tick a few boxes – this school is the only school in the World, we believe, to have produced two winners of the National Eisteddfod’s Learner of the Year (Dysgwr y Flwyddyn) prize. And neither winner had any Welsh blood. Learn from us, perhaps? The anti-Welsh attitudes promoted in Wales and evident in these columns probably cause the Welsh Government to believe that reducing the funding for Welsh teachers in Patagonia year on year, as they have done for years, will raise fewer heckles in Wales. Please access the website and give us some support.
As you must know the situation in Wales is very different. The key component of learning Welsh, which is childhood immersion has been mostly removed so Welsh people are mostly English only speakers.
At which point do we say that it is ok for the language of most Welsh to be the English language? Never? Well that’s not going to work because Welsh people should come before the language.
Welsh was spoken by all Welsh people not that long ago but the language was not able to stop colonisation then so why is the language going to save us now?
I think Welsh Wales is going to emerge as something very different
to what is expected. Look at England, it as a nation has gone through various stages of colonisation and many changes itself and if you believe that the English language replaced what came before it then why don’t we have a problem accepting English as the language of the current English?
The story of the Welsh experience has become less and less to do with the language and more to do with our place in a globalised world..
Ysgol y cwmuu is inspiring, diolch yn fawr iawn!
First I note that you haven’t actually tried to answer my ‘whinges’. My ‘whinging’ is in response to the ‘sour grapes’ I am hearing from Welsh speakers in these comments ‘continually whinging’ about Welsh people not speaking Welsh. It’s very funny that you are now the Golden Boy for the cause according to these other commenters, when you have tried to undermine issues on this blog many times.
The Welsh nationalist cause is based on sour grapes so I’m not that bothered about another one. I got off my pen ol a long time ago mate and found opportunities. I also don’t believe learning a language is as easy as you make it out to be if you have to do other things and don’t have other learners to practice with.
Anonymous – less hysteria and more rational thought is called for. You appear to have some sense of inferiority deriving from your monoglot situation. That is quite unusual, as most Anglo orientated folk ( or is it volk ? ) rejoice in their inability to master other languages and that characteristic is a key foundation in their sense of superiority. Strange that superiority derives from less rather than more.
Marconatrix hits the nail squarely on the head in that lingusitic fluency is a skill, maybe acquired by a variety of means, but a skill nevertheless. People who feel deprived or disadvantaged thus have the remedy in their own hands (or brains). There is no hidden obstacle, no masonic key to entry, just sign up and learn and you too can benefit from being a Welsh speaker and “enjoy” the scorn of those Anglos who see no “value” in it.
No hysteria just pointing out your unfounded superiority complex. I however don’t feel inferior at all, so sorry about that. Just don’t like being spoken down to, which is a product of not feeling inferior.
By the way I love all the Celtic languages but the ease of learning is not like you say. But if you learned it as a child I wouldn’t expect you to understand that.
I understand the challenge of learning anything. I may have acquired Welsh as a small child, then moved into English at about 7 ! However other subjects and skills have been acquired as I got older through school, college etc and then by “lifelong learning” as the educationalists call it nowadays. I have a partner and at 63 she is learning Welsh having learned a basic amount some c.30 years ago. She’s now giving it another crack to expand her understanding and get some more spoken fluency. She won’t get a job among the crachach, she never wanted one, but likes the idea of a bit of banter with those who are more comfortable in the language, just like we try to use the native language when we go to Cheltenham !
The difference between learning a language at an older age and other skills is that practicing conversation requires regular practice with other patient people who speak Welsh, just like in childhood. It is not really practiced properly in private such as playing an instrument or writing an equation.
You are also going to sound for a long time like a Welsh Manuel from Fawlty Towers and this is not how people like to present themselves. It is a difficult undertaking for an adult so to expect the Welsh to revert to speaking Welsh without a lot of support is unrealistic. I am surprised that Welsh language courses are not more prevalent in Welsh towns etc. You would think this would be a priority of Welsh speakers to provide this kind of service while earning decent income but I don’t recall seeing much. How come?
There are all sorts of networks being set up these days to help ´isolated´ Welsh learners. Either to meet face to face or to communicate e.g. via Skype. Many adult have learnt Welsh some at quite an advanced age, although to revitalise the language clearly young adults and prospective parents need to be targeted most. People far removed from Wales succeed in learning Welsh, so if you´re actually in or close to Cymru you´ve really no excuse.
In short, Sir, I fear you do protest too much. Indeed if half of the energy your type put into moaning about how hard Welsh is actually went into speaking the language, we´d all be home and dry by now.
I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick. I am not asking your permission to exist as an English speaking Welshman. If you think that, then you have missed the mark completely. I don’t think learning Welsh is a priority that needs to be learnt to get me home and dry. Wales is home regardless, as it is for all English speaking Welsh. Sorry if you don’t like that but those are the plain facts that support my position and not yours. Its’s my goodwill to have a go that has shown me it’s difficulty in learning, not feeling that I have to please cultural zealots.
I am Welsh, what are you? The arbiter of Welshness from yonder? Give me a break mate. My type is what most Welsh are basically so you haven’t got a leg to stand on. Don’t try and marginalise the Welsh from Wales with your rubbish. If people are learning Welsh far from home, in terms of contributing to a Welsh speaking Wales it is a drop in the ocean. If tokenism keeps you content then so be it.
A lot of Welsh people are Welsh learners in the making, so the fact that Welsh language provision is not obviously advertised or marketed is very strange indeed, considering the fuss made about it. It’s almost as if these Welsh speakers don’t really believe the very things they are telling the rest of us.
I´m afraid we seem to be talking at cross purposes. I read your previous response as meaning ¨I´d like to speak Welsh but learning it is much too hard and there´s no help available¨. That´s not true, and it´s less true now than it probably ever was, at least not since Welsh was the regular language over most of Wales. But now you seem to have changed your tune, and are accusing me of trying to tell you what to do. Not at all, it´s none of my business what you do with your own life, just so long as you don´t disparage others desire to speak Welsh, and their efforts to do so.
You wrote ¨practicing conversation requires regular practice with other patient people who speak Welsh¨, and I entirely agree with that statement. I simply pointed out that there are ways to achieve that now, wherever you happen to be. Should you so wish it can be arranged. Seek and ye shall find. If you don´t so wish, then why bring up the issue in the first place?
Beth ydw i? Un o´r Alban sy´n byw yng Ngheryw ac yn siarad Cymraeg. People often don´t fit into handy little boxes I´m afraid, at least not while they´re still breathing. But despite that, I don´t have an identity problem, but I strongly suspect that you do. The phrase, ¨chip on his shoulder a mile high¨ somehow comes to mind.
Nos da i chi!
there is a degree of fair criticism in what you say. Here in South Wales, despite all the talk about provision of courses we have often found that they get dumped on the slightest pretext. Daft decisions like merging a group that meets late morning with another group that meets in the evening. Yes it cuts costs but also reduces access for some people whose work/life patterns can only accommodate certain timings.
As for sounding like Manuel, don’t worry about it. An awful lot of 1st language Welsh sound like bloody Sionies anyway because we have got into the habit of introducing Anglo American slang or some other lazy habit. I find my own written Welsh to be different from that which I speak due to such factors.
To close, I get the feeling that you are near a tipping point and with a bit of positive encouragement from a friend or neighbour you could be gassing away in a new language in no time at all.
So have a go !
The point of the matter is that the UK – a fairly minor military nation by conventional standards, is more than capable of slapping daft any military force in that region and possession is nine tenths of the law.
As for what other countries think – that’s for morons. It’s what other countries will actually do that counts. And the reality is – not that much really. Maybe a stern letter to The Times. Probably not even that. In fact, almost certainly not as much as that..
Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough.
(PS – I served 22 years in the infantry. I can assure the casual reader that the Argentine forces weren’t even good enough to be canon fodder and haven’t improved much since then. Whereas we have. Substantially.)
Sorry to hear you talk like this.
As for the point you make, a professional army will always beat a badly-led army of reluctant conscripts.
Unless of course you are suggesting some kind of racial superiority. If so, then this would manifest itself in many fields, such as football, or rugby or tennis. It doesn’t, which leaves us with conscripts versus professionals. Nothing really to crow about.
P.S. Don’t misunderstand me, Andy, this is not about you and the others who fought, and died, on both sides; it’s about the politicians and other chancers (with or without gold braid), the liars and the hypocrites who send young men to war.
Quite right Jac. Someone once said that the ‘brave’ leaders – when they fall out – should get in a ring together to sort it out – if they think physical violence is the solution. What do they do instead? Send the young, innocent & brave out into slaughter, whilst the leaders stay at home in an armchair and watch it. It’s a reflection of psychopathic evil.
A fragment of song comes to mind (Australian accent) :
Now if governments think that it makes better sense,
To save on education and spend on defense,
Could easily be argued upon the same grounds,
That elections should be … the best of ten rounds …
Chorus :
And ¨It´s on!¨ [i.e. a bar fight has started]
All reason and logic have gone,
Winning the fight won´t prove that you´re right,
It´s sad, it´s true but ¨It´s on¨.
The Argentine forces are – like most armies round the globe, simply third rate I’ve worked with and alongside a lot of armies, including western european ones and most are absolutely abysmal. They are poorly trained, have equipment that they cannot use properly and lack belief. Is not a racial thing, it’s a capability thing and troops who have the will to do it.
During the Falklands Conflict, we were at a distinct disadvantage especially when the Atlantic Conveyor went down as that ham-strung our logistics. They had more and heavier artillery, more and heavier mortars and support heavy weapons, better air defence systems, superior missiles, held an airstrip (which was still in use the night before Stanley fell), a massive superiority in troop numbers who had superior small arms and better personal equipment, more armour and stockpiles of supplies. But the Argentines had not factored in two things – our soldiers are volunteers and actually like fighting – they see it as a test. The political ins and outs of it they couldn’t care less about and secondly it’s piss-poor pointless buying state of the art kit from France, the USA etc etc if you don’t actually know how to use it.
Did you know after the Conflict a General the US Department of Defence wrote a study called ‘The Last Warrior Nation’ about the force of will shown on the battlefield by the British troops.
All very interesting, but like I said, Andy, this is not about the conflict, it’s about who has the better legal claim to the islands.
Professional? Are you sure Red Flag?
May I point out that when Sir Galahad was moored in Bluff Cove, with Welsh Guards aboard, it was attacked by the Argentine 5th Air brigade. These jets flew from Rio Gallegos airbase and were not detected by nuclear submarine HMS Splendid who was stationed on guard off Gallegos, tasked to keep and eye out. This was because the British were so unprofessional.
Meanwhile, another nuclear submarine, HMS Valiant, did do their job and detected six Argentine jets take off from another airbase at Rio Grande. However, Valiant failed to warn vessels at Bluff Cove of their imminent arrival. This was because the British were so unprofessional.
When you state that the Argentine had inferior kit, you should note it was the jamming equipment on the Argentine destroyer, ARA Santísima Trinidad, that prevented close quarter detection on the incoming bandits by Sir Galahad or Sir Tristram themselves. The Sea Harrier protection could not intercept precisely because of confusion. This was because the British were so unprofessional.
Not only that, the British failed to properly protect the vessels and Welsh guards on the first sortie. The Argentines were able to mount a second attack on HMS Fearless in Choiseul Sound. Only then did the British engage the enemy as by this time the Sea Harriers had visual.
Also, while this was happening, the frigate HMS Plymouth which was further offshore (thus had room to away broadside) was bombed. An attack which went without response, again because of poor communication. This was because the British were so unprofessional.
So. 26 Welsh guards were killed. 150 wounded. When you talk of British professionalism, don’t write it on this blog. Look Simon Weston in the face and tell him. You should also be aware that the US Department of Defence disclosed in ‘The Last Warrior Nation’ the fact that the Americans had detected the Special Boat Service landing on Argentine mainland and a helicopter incursion being botched, last seen heading for Chile.
It was an ‘official secret’, but the Americans published anyway.
When you put it like that . . .
Bychan, our casuakty rate for an operation of that size was extraordinarily low. The planners had worked on an assumption of the Comando Brigade seizing a beachhead but being left combat ineffective afterwards (50% casualties) and then an expansion and securing exercise by the Airborne Brigade with the aim being to force the Argentines to negotiate. The reality was the Commando Brigade landed virtually unopposed and as a result we literally had a surplus brigade which meant we were able to go for broke – and even then, the night before Stanley fell the 105 light guns were down to less than 10 shells a barrel and the bayonet troops were short of ammo and relying largely on stuff looted from argentine corpses (including weapons). Luckily they used the same calibre as us for their small and medium arms – the then 7.62 standard NATO round..
They were always going to be lucky breaks here and there for the Argies (there always is for any enemy in any war.) Look at our casualty rate just for day one of D-Day – those were the percentages they were using in planning for this Conflict, expanded to take account of the fact that weaponry by the 1980s was far more destructive, we wouldn’t be sending any heavy weaponry, we wouldn’t have any heavy armour. Such lucky breaks on their part were the Sir Galahad, Sheffield, Atlantic Conveyor etc etc. If the Conveyor hadn’t gone down we would have had more air cover and a faster turn-around. If the Type 21s had been built for this tyoe of warfare as opposed to central europe anti-soviet then we would have had better air warning. But they did so we had to make do with what was there, not what we wanted. Improvise, Make do. Press on. But once we got close enough to grab their belt buckles and the meat grinder kicked in they were sadly lacking – and British tactical doctrine for that type of warfare is exactly that – close with and kill the enemy. Grab hold of them, don’t let go, don’t let them settle, don’t let them rest. And we are very very good at it. Even as they were streaming back into Stanley and it was obvious we were going to win within a matter of hours, we were harrassing their withdrawing columns with fire. And just as in later wars – the Gulf, Afghanistan etc etc the casualty rate was actually quite low in comparison to what was planned for and expected.
The US don’t keep any secrets regarding foreign powers unless it suits them. They were giving us up-to-date satellite imagery under the table.
And also you didn’t read what I wrote – I said their kit was superior. Just that their men weren’t.
Most informed military commentators believe the Argentines could have won the South Atlantic conflict. They relied too heavily on their air force, who were dominant in the skies. Tactically, the Argentine air force should have concentrated their attacks on the logistics vessels rather than warships. The Argentine land forces should have gone on the offensive rather than digging in to defensive positions around Puerto Argentino / Stanley.
The “what ifs” are frankly irrelevant, ‘though.
What significant is that the British state has already lost this dispute in the court of international opinion.
I should add that it shows typical BritNat bias to disparage the Argentine “men”. To any objective observers, the Argentine airmen fought with great skill and heroism — and achieved air superiority. The Argentine military strategy — rather like that of the British and French in 1940 — was to dig in to defensive positions, which their commander then gave up out of respect for the civilian population of Puerto Argentino / Stanley. Had they gone on the offensive, there would have been a longer war which they would probably have won.
Perhaps not, but I am correcting a misrepresented ‘fact’ that only 2 countries support the UK and the Islanders when that is clearly not true. I appreciate everyone has their own opinions on this matter, but only providing selective facts and figures hardly makes a conclusive case, just a very biased view.
America for example is ‘neutral’ on the issue, they accept the UK has ‘de facto’ control over the Islands, but call for a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute through negotiations, as do many other countries. But that doesn’t mean they support Argentina. After all we would all prefer to see a peaceful solution rather than another war.
It has often been stated that the only place to settle a sovereignty dispute is at the UNICJ, so why after 60 years or more has Argentina not taken the UK to the ICJ, even for an advisory judgement. It seems strange that if you really believed you had a good case, you would go to the only court who could sit in judgement to make a decision. Maybe the UK should start the ball rolling, I am not sure of the legalities of it, but would think that it is the complainant that needs to take it forward. I just wonder why Argentina doesn’t, after all what have they got to lose.
Something just doesn’t add up for me. I can’t see it as black and white as you obviously.
Do you realise what de facto means? By way of explanation, during WWII Germany was in de facto control of Czechoslovakia and other countries. De facto but not de jure. The USA is not giving the UK support by using that term.
In the wider context the USA will have to decide whether Latin America, with its population of 650 million, is more important to US interests than the UK. With the UK out of the EU, and no longer able to act as Uncle Sam’s mouthpiece, I think we can all predict which way the USA will lean.
Your faith in the International Court of Justice is misplaced.
Where did I say the USA supports the UK, I clearly stated they are ‘Neutral’, do you know what ‘neutral’ means?…..And yes I know very well what ‘de facto’ means.
Why is my faith in the ICJ misplaced? Please don’t tell me they would be biased in favour of the UK.
For someone who supports a Welsh Nationalist movement, supports the right to have a say in your future of your home, your community and your country, I find it at odds with your views regarding the Islanders. I support your rights and have over the time reading this blog, been impressed with your determination and sincerity to your cause. But your views with regards the the Falklands are a 180 degrees change of view.
Do you believe in Human rights and the right to determine your future, or is it just that they choose to remain a BOT that your dislike. If they declared independence, would that be acceptable?
The contradistinction should be obvious, the ‘Islanders’ you refer to are neither an indigenous population nor a nation. They are a colonial implant encouraged to move there by British authorities in order to give us the situation we have today. If this justifies British control of the islands then it also justifies French control of New Caledonia (where there is an indigenous population) and Russian control of the Donbass (eastern Ukraine), etc., etc.
The British did the same thing to provoke the Second Boer War (1899 – 1902) by encouraging settlers to move into the gold fields of the Transvaal (a Boer Republic), claim they were being discriminated against and demand British ‘protection. They were nothing but a pretext for a British invasion in order to take possession of the gold fields and the diamond mines. You seeing the pattern here?
An interesting view, however..
The difference is that the Falklands never had an ‘Indigenous’ population, so your comparison fails at the start. The Islanders, as the original settlers from 1832/33 onwards (not the UP garrison) can be considered the ‘indigenous’ population as there was nothing before them. It all depends on how far back you want to go in history, the Spanish/Italian/Portuguese implants to Argentina/South America are not the Indigenous population either and were encouraged to go there by the Spanish etc. So I am not at all convinced as to your point?
Your comparison to French Caledonia is also confusing. Both the Falklands and French Caledonia are two of the seventeen NSGT’s on the C24 List, the C24 being ‘The Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence of Colonial Countries and Peoples’ , a clear remit that doesn’t mention anything about handing over territories to other nations against the will of the people.
They all share the same status, no exceptions or special cases.
All member of the UN abide by the UN charter, the and the relevant chapter below:
terrotorieshttp://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-xi/index.html
If the Islanders are not entitled to self determination as you point out, then you are in fact saying that France has a right to maintain French Caledonia as a colony against the wishes of the inhabitants. That would be the situation if Argentina were given sovereignty. That the Chagos Islanders do not have a right to live on the islands in Diego Garcia (they were uninhabited and had no indigenous population under your definition). That Sao Tome and Principe being all implanted by the Portuguese are not indigenous and therefore cannot be a nation, but must belong to the nearest land mass (maybe Equatorial Guinea).
Royston, I appreciate your issue with the rest of the UK and Westminster, but I cannot understand your stance regarding the Falklands, it goes against everything you claim to stand for……..the right to have control and to determine the future of your home, your community and your country. Sorry, I just don’t get it.
First you came here posting as ‘Culle’, then ‘Anonymous’, and now you’re ‘Llangennith Longboarder’ (though the original spelling was ‘Longborader’). You are one of those I banned, and you’re still banned, this is your last comment.
The point about indigenous populations is that they have claims that colonial implants lack. Those living on the islands in question are not an indigenous or native population. Do you understand? Whether you do or not you don’t get published here again.
Your oppo, ‘Junius’, who ended up threatening me, has also tried commenting again. He too is banned. Have a word.
At the end of the day all you people seem to be saying is Might is Right. Which is what you’ve been saying for centuries. I’m surprised you don’t do the honest thing and claim those islands by Right of Conquest, because that’s what it boils down to.
“America for example is ‘neutral’ on the issue, they accept the UK has ‘de facto’ control over the Islands, but call for a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute through negotiations”
You made me splutter a mouthful of coffee all over my VDU when I read that!!! AMERICA? Peaceful solution? Neutral? You have got to be kidding me!
Big Gee, I agree, words are cheap, what defines a nation’s stance is their actions.
How many of these nations in South America that say they ‘support ‘Argentina actually back up that with real actions, sanctions etc….none, they all deal with the UK for trade etc and many deal with the Islands as well. Yeah, they wouldn’t allow a Falklands Ensign in their ports, so they fly the GB Ensign instead.
Makes you wonder why Russia vetoed Malcorra for the UN Sec. Gen. job and why China has just cancelled investment in Arg. for a couple of Dams, if they are such buddies. Countries will do what suits them. As I said words are cheap.
just went on the Guardian to give some abrasive feedback to a muppet who saw no merit in McGregor’s views and was indulging in a typical pro-Brit rant. Found myself shut out probably because I did something similar earlier in the day on another item. These rags don’t like a bit of blunt frankness in one’s responses !
They’re watching you!
ref your tweets column- that tweet from Dewey Earwig ( spelt the Anglo phonetic way to enable half accurate pronounciation among your new “fans” ) doesn’t do the man justice, he should have just pinned up a picture of a big arse hole !
An interesting follow up, although in the interests of neutrality or fair play, the author does fail to mention the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association that highlighted its support and adopted a resolution maintaining the ‘free and fair Referendum that reflects the Islanders wishes to remain a BOT’ in 2013. So add another 52 Nations to that list.
I also note that they use Taiwan as an example and note that it is ‘obvious for their self serving reasons’, yet do not ascribe the same thought to China (South China Sea, Tibet etc) and Russia and its enclaves showing support for Argentina for the very same ‘self serving reasons’.
It would have been nice to see a little balance in the argument, as it is clearly not quite as one sided as made out above. Both sides clearly have arguments of equal weight.
I hardly think the support of the Commonwealth strengthens the UK case.
The UK has not moved into the 21st century politically.
A large section of the population (mainly in England it must be said) still hanker after the political distortions of the past that they call history.
This is evidenced in their constant references to a World War that ended 70 years ago as if it happened only yesterday.
Fond ‘memories’ abound of cheery old grannies, sat out in their flower filled gardens, crocheting union jack tea cosies while the air raid sirens warble away merrily in the background. This is the way the war was won by brave little Britain they muse. If only things could be like that today.
Tell them that WWII destroyed Britain as a global power; tell them it caused untold grief and suffering to millions; tell them about the looting in bombed out cities and the profiteering; tell them that it was the might of the US industrial machine and the millions of Russian troops that brought victory; tell them about the contribution of other countries, including many of those despised Europeans; tell them that their adored Winston Churchill was slung out of office 2 months after the war ended by Clement Attlee’s Labour Party having a majority of 200 seats.
Tell them all those things and a smile of greater understanding crosses their faces, the perfume of the flowers of the meadows of war torn England fill their nostrils and hum of a million bees fill their ears and shut out reality.
Oh no! They will tell you. Haven’t you ever seen Dad’s Army on the TV?
It is this grotesque distortion of the past which leads to the child-like delusion of brave little Britain forging its own way in the world after Brexit. It’s what persuades people to put the picture of a despised, drunken oaf on the back of £5 notes (printed on plastic so the citizens of Tonypandy can’t use them to wipe their arse) and a xenophobic attitude to all those lesser mortals who can’t speak the Queen’s English.
It’s also fuels the dangerous delusion that if only we could return to the good old pre-European days that all our problems will be solved, because that same xenophobia prohibits telling you that pre-Europe the economy was a basket case and we had to borrow money off the IMF to avoid going bankrupt.
They will instead gleefully tell you that the UK is the world’s fifth largest economy – but they won’t admit that it only got that way because we were part of Europe.
Nope! It was all due to dear little grannies crocheting tea cosies.
That, unfortunately is the way of the British Establishment. Heap lie, upon myth, upon delusion and hope that people are dumb enough to believe it.
This is what fuelled the invasion of Iraq and war in the Falklands. It leads to the second largest expenditure on ‘defence’ in the western world. It means spending on weapons of mass destruction in preference to proper funding of the NHS. Its what leads English politicians to claim that Scotland cannot be independent because we are better together but then object to being ruled by diktat from Brussels.
Hopefully Brexit will turn out to be the economic and political shambles that many experts predicted. Hopefully then the smug isolationism that the millionaire public schoolboys exploit will be forever destroyed. Hopefully the younger generation, who were all born as Europeans, will (eventually) move the UK into the 21st century.
Hopefully the self inflicted delusion of Brexit will turn out to be the Establishment’s worst nightmare.
well written and it might persuade some of our Anglo neighbours that there is merit in climbing back into the EU, sharpish ! However you do not convince me that the interests of Wales are well served by continued subservience to the Brussels EU elite any more than they would by remaining attached to the Whitehall/ Westminster elite.
The constant in all this is that both political ruling cliques (UK and EU) are aligned in a wider elite that aspires for total control of our lives and behaviours. Brexit is a mere side show, part of an ongoing schism between one part that wants collaboration within a “market and its institutions” and another that wants a broader involvement in “government”. Both options entail intense levels of rule making and compliance with ever increasing amounts of intervention in our day to day lives. So, not much to choose from there. A sincere attempt at reshaping Europe around a market model with minimal statist involvement does not appeal to the elites because it would dilute their means of sticking their noses and push back their agenda by decades. Fuhrer May’s speech last week disclosed her penchant for rule making – she might as well have uttered that infamous line – “we shall proceed to create a new order”,- and the likes of Hamilton would have rejoined the Tories at once.
Here in Wales we are stuck with politicians whose thoughts are totally guided by dependency – how do we max out on the cash we can get from Whitehall/Westminster/ Brussels. Seldom do we get any original thought on how to extract the nation from this shit fest that keeps the entire nation suspended in an aspic of semi-poverty, insecurity and demotivation. It’s like someone has slipped a strong dose of sedative into our water at regular intervals to cripple our capacity for breaking out in a rash of radical thought.
As usual dafis a spot-on analysis.
Uncannily in sync with my thoughts that I’ve expressed on here many times – but probably not up to your superior knack of putting it over so expertly.
Excellent!
Poetry, pure poetry.
I recall, many years ago, in a pub I then frequented stating – as a consequence of being naive, drunk, and reading too much – that WWII was won and lost on the Eastern Front, and that campaigns like North Africa were sideshows, morale boosters. I almost got thrown out. (A fate I was to experience more than once in the years that followed.) I was ‘too young to understand that Britain had won the War’ almost single-handed.
Now that I’m older what I certainly understand is that every nation and state tells itself lies. But unless these are totalitarian states there is invariably a counter-narrative. This is almost absent in the British interpretation of WWII because ‘England wot won it’ suits the political right, as it promotes national self-esteem and engenders unthinking patriotism, while the left goes along with it because the enemy was fascism. (Though, in fairness, the left will often remind us of the Red Army’s role.)
The flip side of this interpretation is that those who didn’t help gallant England were cowards – the French, especially. (The fact that so many French troops were stationed in the colonies, and that France was hopelessly divided is never taken into account.) And yet, others who were occupied, such as the Dutch, the Danes and the Norwegians, are treated much more generously. This bias even extends to the enemies. The Germans are respected but the Italians and Japanese are not.
It’s difficult not to see something atavistic and ethnic in the British/English way of remembering WWII (and to some extent WWI). Translating that to the EU and Brexit, most English people seemed happy with the EU when it was a Western European club, with Germany running things (even if France was Germany’s best buddy), but the tide of opinion turned when Slavs, Magyars, Roumans and other tribes emerged from the east.
This system of ‘grading’ other nations on their perceived performance in WWII is pernicious and all-too prevalent. It leads to thick-as-shit Sun readers being able to pontificate and generalise about millions of people with, ‘That’s what they’re like’, or ‘They’re all the same’.
But it has brought us to where we are today – a nation in laager* with those inside the circled wagons ready to lash out blindly at anyone who doesn’t subscribe to, and any thing that doesn’t conform to, their Anglo-Saxon weltanschauung.
Though it must be said that this outlook I’ve described always has a sneaking regard for those who fight back. It might rarely be articulated, but it’s there. Which is why we Welsh are regarded by so many English with contempt. And we deserve it.
P.S Just picked .
* An Afrikaans word for drawing up trekker wagons into a defensive circle. The Boers were another people the British/English had a soft spot for . . . until they took over South Africa in 1948.
That reference to which you linked is about Neil MacGregor, a pretty exceptional art historian cum museum director during a long illustrious and sometimes controversial career. A genuine polymath – multi talented, broad academic with first degrees in languages, law and philosophy from Oxford , Paris & Edinburgh then on to Masters in history of Art with Blunt ( of all people ! ) . When Director of the British Museum he resisted the proposition that the Elgin Marbles should be handed back to the Greeks but has also adopted less partisan postures re Brit interests on other issues.
This article reveals him to be open to a broader, less partisan analysis of the History of Britain/UK with closer scrutiny of the darker corners. If Germany did it, despite the trauma of Nazism being quite recent, then good old Blighty should be able to undergo a similar therapeutic journey.
I live in Argentina and have done for quite some time and see at first hand how the Argentinean political system works. I am sure that the people of the Islands wouldn’t want to adopt an Argentinean form of “government”, with all the corruption, nepotism and third-worldism that that entails. When asked by tourists what the cheapest thing to buy here, I often suggest a judge. Perhaps when President Macri has had some time to clean up the mess, the people of the islands may be willing to have a preliminary sit down. The Islanders will always have the final say.
I’m sure you’re right about the imperfections in the Argentinian political system (though your talk of “corruption, nepotism and third-worldism” made me think you’d switched to Wales!), but the issue is which country has the stronger claim to the islands.
The people of the falklands have the strongest claim surely.
Most of what you say is correct, Gauchito Gil, except the final sentence. I think you’ll find that the person that has the final say is not the inhabitants of the Falkland Islands. It’s the foreign secretary of the Westminster government. He has the power to appoint or dismiss any governor of any British Overseas Territory, and decide the constitutional arrangement that applies. While the last referendum of the residents of Falkland Islands resulted in a 98% result to remain a British territory the situation is becoming increasingly unsustainable. An almighty cock-up will need to be engineered, one which leaves the UK prime minister without embarrassment. She has appointed the ideal candidate for this task in the form of Boris Johnson. He has functional linguistic skills in spanish, is the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and is not known for any significant diplomatic skills. He currently holds the seal of crown in this matter, and no doubt a useful sacrificial idiot to be relied upon to dispose of the South Atlantic problem. Jac is correct to identify the United States and Russian view. The former by reason of maintaining back-yard stability, the latter as part of a concerted campaign creating European instability.
Can you imagine Argentina being governed by Brazil? That is the situation for us in Wales. 533 English MPs. Shortly to be 29 Welsh MPs. And a faux-parliament in Cardiff whose powers are shortly to be expanded to include taxi licensing and speed limits!
Good stuff and yet in the face of that evidence, the Brits Nats will still bang the British establishment drum and say British is right and everyone else is wrong over the Malvinas. I don’t begin to understand the mentality or ever want to frankly.
It’s the same mentality that allows the Tory Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns to call all welsh speakers arsonists on a main stream BBC current affairs programme without batting an eyelid or challenge except for Plaid Cymru’s Leanne Wood when she could get a word in, the same Alun Cairns who was sacked for calling Italian’s ‘greasy wops’. Self awareness is clearly not his strength.
Cairns, like RT Davies knows full well there won’t be any come back on them and their free to rail against ‘narrow Welsh nationalists’ and ‘ Welsh separatists because there no decent welsh media. The sooner this toxic union ends the better for all of us Welsh, Scots, English and Irish, so we can get on governing ourselves as equals.
It’s almost like a nation in denial, believing everybody loves them, and then the pantomime cry goes up – ‘Oh no we don’t!’
They seem to think they can rampage around the world for a few centuries, taking over other peoples’ countries, killing them, insulting them, stealing their wealth, and there’ll be no day of reckoning! There will be. There is. It’s happening now.
It’s finally dawning on these Britlanders that they are not universally loved, and the response seems to be, ‘Well fuck you, we’ll do our own thing!’ ‘Our own thing’ seems to mean pulling up the drawbridge and attacking foreigners, which in this context includes us Welsh, because ‘foreigner’ means anyone who’s not English.
There is something very evil stirring in England, and we Welsh are within our rights to protect ourselves from this nascent fascism and its fellow-travellers by any means we can.
I agree with all of the above and I sincerely hope enough of the Welsh people realise soon enough what they´re in for. Unlike all the other ´foreigners´ you´re physically stuck on to England. Few English people would believe, even if you told them, that historically the Welsh have a prior claim on most of Britain. To them you´re just some odd ´diferent´ tribe that somehow seems to be squatting on a bumpy bit of ´their´ country.
So what are you (the Welsh that is) going to do about it? I don´t see your government fighting your corner (excuse the Thatcherism), so who is going to speak up for Wales? You get oodles of cash from the EU under a whole slew of schemes, do you really honestly believe that the WM Tories will replace that funding pound for pound?
I sincerely hope for your sake that someone somewhere is working on a feasible plan …
China still hasn’t forgiven them for the Opium Wars and yet, in their deluded state, the ‘British’ Government have basically given the Chinese power over the Nuclear Industry.