KIRCHNER ABSENCE AT FALKLANDS/MALVINAS MEMORIAL SPARKS

UNCLAS BUENOS QRES 000633 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS WHA/BSC FOR DREW BLAKENEY AND BRUCE FRIEDMAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM MASS AR SUBJECT: KIRCHNER ABSENCE AT FALKLANDS/MALVINAS MEMORIAL SPARKS CRITICISM REF: BUENOS AIRES 00603 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: President Kirchner was prominent by his absence at the major commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Falklands/Malvinas war in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego. Vice President Scioli led the ceremony in Ushaia, calling for renewed negotiations with the UK over the sovereignty dispute and reiterating Argentina's claims to the islands. Local press reports blame a planned demonstration by striking public employees and teachers from Tierra del Fuego and Santa Cruz provinces for Kirchner's absence. Whatever the reason for Kirchner's absence, his decision not to attend the commemoration opened him to criticism from war veterans and the opposition. End summary. -------------- KIRCHNER A NO SHOW -------------- ¶2. (U) Kirchner was conspicuously absent from the principle official commemoration ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the Falklands/Malvinas war in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego despite Defense Minister Nilda Garre's earlier announcement that he would be present. Local press reports blame a planned demonstration by striking public employees and teachers from Tierra del Fuego and Santa Cruz provinces for Kirchner's absence. Official sources place the blame on Garre, stating that the President had not changed his earlier decision not to attend. ¶3. (U) Veterans of the war and opposition parties seized the opportunity to openly criticize Kirchner for not attending any public ceremony commemorating the war as well as the decision not to broadcast the ceremony on the state-owned television channel. National newspaper, La Nacion, published a poll which showed almost 91% of those questioned disapproved of Kirchner's absence from the ceremony. -------------- "MALVINAS ARE ARGENTINE" -------------- ¶4. (U) Vice President Scioli delivered the keynote address to a crowd of about 5,000, expressing the government's "heartfelt and deserved homage to those who fell and to those who were wounded or maimed fulfilling their duty." He called on the UK to resume sovereignty negotiations pursuant to UN Resolution 2065 and stated that the Malvinas "are Argentine, they always were and they always will be." Defense Minister Garre, Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana, and Interior Minister Anibal Fernandez also attended the ceremony. ¶5. (U) Taiana has repeatedly criticized the UK's continued resistance to resuming negotiations to resolve the dispute, denying appeals from not only the UN, but also from the OAS and other international forums. He defended the GoA's decision not to participate in a bilateral commemoration of the war's end in June, contending that the UK was not planning a tasteful commemoration, but rather "a militaristic victory parade, a typical gesture of arrogance." Taiana also belittled the UK for trying to take credit for efforts of family members of the victims of the war to travel to the islands to erect a memorial in their honor and for refusing to participate in bilateral confidence building measures. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (SBU) It is a bit odd that a president who has consistently cast fuel on the nationalistic fires surrounding the Malvinas/Falklands issue would pass up the opportunity to simultaneously rail on two of his favorite themes: the perversity of the past military junta(in making its disastrous decision to take Argentina to war with England); and the arrogance of some powerful foreign interest bent on denying something to or taking something away from Argentina. Kirchner's absence has left analysts scratching their heads. Perhaps he was trying to avoid confrontation with public employees and teachers from Tierra del Fuego and Santa Cruz provinces, who were reportedly planning a small protest at the war's commemoration? Whatever the reason, his decision not to attend the commemoration opened doors for criticism of a different sort from war veterans and opposition parties, who seized the opportunity to condemn his decision and call into question his commitment to the issue. WAYNE