To the Malvinas, they will not tolerate Argentineans who arrive "with a political agenda" – 27/03/2019

Almost five years ago they confirmed by the Malvinian government Clarin that the Legislative Assembly has debated to ban the deployment of Argentine flags in the archipelago. Last week, the first serious incident that responded to this initiative took place: Luis Alberto Escobedo, a 1982 war veteran, was arrested along with seven other Argentine veterans for have deployed the national badge, with inscriptions of patriotic songs which, for the kelpers, are "insulting" and are already considered as offenses.

In consultation with ClarinBarry Elsby, his Malvinas councilor, said on Wednesday that all veterans were welcome on the islands but that they "would not tolerate" any political program, "with flaming flags and proclamations with which the Falklands are Elsby said: "The Falkland Islands welcome real Argentinean and British veterans who wish to visit the islands to help them find deals with the horrible war of 1982. "

He stated that this was demonstrated "clearly with full support for the identification process of unknown soldiers in the Argentine cemetery" of Darwin and the subsequent visit of families under the umbrella of the Missing Families Commission. to the Malvinas. He referred to the DNA badysis of 122 unidentified remains resulting from a previous agreement reached between London and Buenos Aires, the "Humanitarian Project Plan". "What the government and the Malouins are not going to tolerate are the people who come here with a political agenda, waving flags and saying that the islands belong to Argentina, and that is the case of this group." overcome

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Escobedo, 57, who was also a footballer, said Clarin its version of the events. "Last Tuesday, we went to the Darwin cemetery, located in an inhospitable and deserted region, about 60 km from the city. We made a minute of silence, then we sang the Argentine anthem and started phrases like ¡Viva la Patria! In addition, I showed a flag that I always wear with the image of the islands and the expression Territorio Argentino. At that time, an Austrian journalist was in the cemetery and had arrived in a car driven by a kelper who was watching us closely. "He went on to say that the day after his visit to the cemetery, the police of the islands had arrived at the hotel where they were sleeping.

"They came piece by piece, they took out our pbadports, cell phones, cameras, clothes and other personal belongings, took us two days and treated us as if we were criminals, they took our fingerprints and took a picture of us before and in profile, all because the kelper driver had denounced us for "faults and insults", but nothing to do, we honor the memory of our people without offending anyone, "said the former footballer.

Deploy a flag and sing foreign patriotic songs is not a crime in Argentina nor in many countries. In the Malvinas, it is clearly an offense. And the conflict of sovereignty deepens the sensitivity of the islanders and the mainlanders. The first take it as a provocation, the second considers it a nationalist necessity. Flags are not usually worn by Argentine tourists, but by veterans who have suffered from the war of 82.

Clarin He also had access to the pro-British government's statement explaining his actions. "The Royal Falkland Islands Police takes seriously the violation of extremely abusive behavior, regardless of the nationality of the people involved." He said the police had filed a complaint on March 21 for "this type of behavior" and that an investigation had been opened "immediately". The open investigation resulted in the detention and interrogation of "people involved" for 24 hours. For her part, Elsby made it clear that they were not in jail.

The statement stated that after referring the decision back to the Attorney General's team, it had been decided not to lay charges and not to take another decision against them. arrested. These events serve to highlight the fact that the RFIP remains committed to hold responsible any person who is responsible for causing "an alarm or distress" to the community members, and He will act "quickly without fear or favor in situations" where something has happened.