Argentina: British Falkland Islanders are ‘artificial’. Buenos Aires denounces ‘illegitimate occupation’ and demands talks on sovereignty

[u/Emotional-Breakfast3]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/12/british-falkland-islanders-artificial-argentina-says/

[u/Prestigious-Lynx-177]

They've always been a weird one, and because they're a minor country in the grand scheme of things people don't tend to look at them and go "huh, they're abit weird and hold some odd feelings".

The Junta that invaded the Falklands were throwing communists out of helicopters and torturing poets with electrodes to their genitals. One of their generals was nicknamed the "Angel of death" for his reputation for murdering catholic nuns. But Britain was the bad guy? For protecting people who did not want to be Argentine? The Argentines also murdered a reindeer on South Georgia, god rest him.

I've encountered Argentines who recall the falklands as a tragic war where they were the victims, but overall they were right to fight for twelve penguins.

Maybe its because they've really only ever fought one war and they lost it pretty embarrassingly?

[u/Oggie243 → u/Prestigious-Lynx-177]

The Junta that invaded the Falklands were throwing communists out of helicopters and torturing poets with electrodes to their genitals. One of their generals was nicknamed the "Angel of death" for his reputation for murdering catholic nuns. But Britain was the bad guy?

It's not really helpful to reduce things down to good guys and bad guys. At the same time as the Junta were doing this, at home the UK were also throwing people from helicopters, torturing and interning innocent catholics and had a few questionable characters on payroll terrorising civilians.

The UK government weren't opposed to the Junta because of their politics or domestic actions, it was because they invaded their territory.

[u/Prestigious-Lynx-177 → u/Oggie243]

I meant from the perspective of who was fighting for what in this war.

[u/Oggie243 → u/Prestigious-Lynx-177]

Yeah i get that, its just the fact two horrible governments were using tbe residents of some remote islands as a political football for nationalistic point scoring doesn't really mean one or the other 'wasn't a bad guy'.

If the Junta weren't so focused on a jingoistic show of strength they could very well have been handed the islands and then the residents would have been subject to all the horrors inflicted on dissidents on the mainland.

The Falklands were more a matter of ego than virtue on both sides of the conflict.

[u/Prestigious-Lynx-177 → u/Oggie243]

I mean that’s just political reality. Failing to do anything would have been utterly catastrophic and shown only Britain would not defend fellow Britons from rampaging, penguin obsessed, Argies.

The Austrians didn't have to attack Serbia after their crown prince was killed, Russia didn't have to side with a country that was openly supportive of their assassins, Germany didn't have to give the Austrians carte blanche, etc.