Rapprochement Signals

Seven years after fighting a brief but bloody war over a sparsely populated archipelago of islands in the South Atlantic, the United Kingdom and Argentina have finally begun the slow process of reestablishing normal diplomatic relations between London and Buenos Aires.

This past week diplomatic meetings were held in New York between the British ambassador to the United Nations and a special envoy dispatched by newly elected Argentine President Carlos Saul Menem. The aim was to lay the groundwork for future negotiations between the two nations where details of renewed relations will be hammered out. Spokesmen for both sides said Friday that the talks went so well that another round of discussions will take place next month in Madrid.

The two countries broke off diplomatic relations during the 1982 conflict over islands that the British call the Falklands and the Argentines las Malvinas. The war broke out despite a long history of close commercial and cultural ties between the two nations. Although Spain and Portugal had the most influence on South America’s modern development, British influence in Argentina dates from the early 18th Century, shortly after Argentina gained its independence from Spain. British engineers helped construct Argentina’s first railroad system, and the rich grasslands of the pampas provided grain and beef for Britain at the height of its naval and military power.

When the South Atlantic war first broke out, most of the world looked on it as something of a joke. But it proved to be a deadly serious matter to both nations, and 1,000 servicemen died in the fierce land, sea and air battles that took place. The fighting began when Argentine troops seized the lightly defended islands in the winter of 1982. Six weeks later the islands were retaken by a British expeditionary force.

The setback was a psychological blow to Argentina, and that fiercely proud nation has not yet fully recovered. Argentina has claimed the islands, which are 300 miles off its coast, ever since they first came under British control in 1833. Their recovery has become a matter of national honor in the ensuing years, so it was not surprising that an unpopular military government invaded the islands in 1982 at least partly to gain popular support. In the end, Britain’s victory helped discredit the Argentine military and bring its government down within a year. With any luck, it will be the last military regime Argentines ever have to tolerate.

The first civilian government elected after Argentina’s generals gave up power tried to renew relations with Britain, but the psychic wounds left over from the war were still too fresh for any progress to be made. Talks held in Switzerland in 1984 broke down when the government of former Argentine President Raul Alfonsin insisted the issue of “sovereignty” over the islands--in other words, who will ultimately control them--had to be on the agenda. The British insisted that diplomatic relations be normalized before the islands were discussed.

There matters stood until last month, when Menem succeeded Alfonsin, and announced that he was willing to put the sovereignty issue aside while negotiations proceed on other matters. It was on that basis that the New York talks were held, and their success is a hopeful sign that the long relationship between Great Britain and Argentina will soon return to normal. Only when that happens can the two nations negotiate the complicated question what the future of the Falklands/Malvinas will be.