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  • Chavez rails against Blair on Falklands

    Another populist move? Or possibly a grain truth in a web of lies?

    Venezuela's president has told Tony Blair to return the Falkland Islands to Argentina and accused the Prime Minister of being a pawn of Washington.

    "We have to remember the Malvinas; how they were taken away from the Argentines," President Hugo Chavez said, using the Argentine term for the islands. "Mr Blair, return the Malvinas to Argentina."

    Hugo Chavez
    Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez: 'Remember the Malvinas'

    Along with Fidel Casto, the socialist leader has long been the most vocal critic of President George W Bush in Latin America. But Mr Blair has now been added to his list of "imperialists" after the Prime Minister advised him this week to "abide by the rules of the international community".

    "Mr Tony Blair you have no moral right to tell anyone to respect international laws, as you have shown no respect for them, aligning yourself with 'Mr Danger' [President Bush] and trampling on the people of Iraq," said Mr Chavez.

    "Do you think we still live in the times of the British Empire or colonialism?"

    The Falklands have been claimed by France, Spain, Holland and Argentina. Britain's claim dates back to 1690, while Argentina claimed sovereignty in 1816 when it gained independence from Spain.
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    President Nestor Kirchner of Argentina has vowed that the islands will one day be part of his nation but has not pursued the claim aggressively since taking power in 2003.

    Mr Blair's official spokesman responded to the Venezuelan salvo by saying: "I don't think it is to anybody's benefit to get into a war of words on this.

    "The position of the Falkland Islands has been stated many times. That remains the position."

    Britain recaptured the Falklands after Argentinian troops invaded in 1982. Hundreds were killed on both sides in the three-month conflict.

    Mr Chavez has long accused Washington of trying to overthrow his regime. But he now appears convinced that Britain too is part of "a plan of imperial aggression" against his oil-rich nation.

    "I'm going to be closely watching what you say and what you do," he told Mr Blair. "Because the British Government has no moral standing, and even less yourself, to get involved in Venezuela's affairs."
    Chavez rails against Blair on Falklands - Telegraph

  • #2
    Here more from the Herald Sun

    VENEZUELAN President Hugo Chavez today proclaimed that the Falkland Islands belong to Argentina on the 25th anniversary of the Argentine invasion of the territory which sparked a war with Britain.

    "Enough already with colonialism,'' Mr Chavez said on state television voicing solidarity with his fellow South American country which still lays claim to the British-run islands in the south Atlantic.

    "Venezuela is among the countries demanding dialogue with Britain, which does not want to discuss it,'' he said.

    "Today we pay tribute to those Argentine soldiers who gave their lives attempting to recover what belonged to them,'' he said.

    Mr Chavez said the US "disgraced'' itself by aiding Britain in the conflict and criticised Latin American countries that stood by "with their arms folded'' during the 10-week conflict except for Cuba, "the only government that offered to send troops to go fight''.

    Mr Chavez also proposed setting up a South American military organisation for similar situations in the future.

    British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher, prime minister during the 1982 Falklands War, paid homage to British veterans on the 25th anniversary of the conflict in low-key ceremonies in London.

    More than 900 people died - including 649 Argentine and 255 British troops and three islanders - during air, land and sea hostilities.

    Thatcher, whose "Iron Lady'' reputation was forged during the crisis, sent in 110 ships and 28,000 military personnel to retake the islands some 12,000km from London and liberate about 1800 residents.
    Get out of Falklands, Chavez tells Britain | Herald Sun

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Feanor View Post
      Another populist move? Or possibly a grain truth in a web of lies?
      Looking for the grain, where was it?
      When we blindly adopt a religion, a political system, a literary dogma, we become automatons. We cease to grow. - Anais Nin

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      • #4
        That article is rather dated, being last 'updated' in November 2006

        Mr. Chavez may now continue to beat his drum against George W. Bush...at least until January 20 2009.

        After which point, Mr. Chavez will need to find somebody else to use as a distraction from his dictatorial power grabbing.

        Crap, that must suck...how are you supposed to unite your people against an outside threat when your threats keep leaving office...unlike yourself.
        “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
          That article is rather dated, being last 'updated' in November 2006

          Mr. Chavez may now continue to beat his drum against George W. Bush...at least until January 20 2009.

          After which point, Mr. Chavez will need to find somebody else to use as a distraction from his dictatorial power grabbing.

          Crap, that must suck...how are you supposed to unite your people against an outside threat when your threats keep leaving office...unlike yourself.
          Perhaps he will soon begin asking for the overthrow of the Imperialist State of Sealand?
          "The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood"-Otto Von Bismarck

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          • #6
            Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
            ...After which point, Mr. Chavez will need to find somebody else to use as a distraction from his dictatorial power grabbing.

            Crap, that must suck...how are you supposed to unite your people against an outside threat when your threats keep leaving office...unlike yourself.
            Alas... it seems that Chavez is using the prerogative of former South American dictators in applying a liberal dose of glue to his presidential chair. So that in the future we will have to referee to him as President-For-Life Chavez.
            When we blindly adopt a religion, a political system, a literary dogma, we become automatons. We cease to grow. - Anais Nin

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Amled View Post
              Alas... it seems that Chavez is using the prerogative of former South American dictators in applying a liberal dose of glue to his presidential chair. So that in the future we will have to referee to him as President-For-Life Chavez.

              Aaaah. So it's glue. And here I was thinking it was amending the Constitution that kept them in office. Silly me. The grain of truth I was referring to was that the regional organization that he was suggesting would be the only real effective deterrent South American countries have against the West.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Feanor View Post
                Aaaah. So it's glue. And here I was thinking it was amending the Constitution that kept them in office.
                Glue by any other name is still glue.

                The grain of truth I was referring to was that the regional organization that he was suggesting would be the only real effective deterrent South American countries have against the West.
                Or the north, as it were. Maybe you meant east. Whats need to be deterred? The Monroe Doctrine has done a good job keeping the rest of the world at bay. If you meant on the economic front, yes, a regional org would help SA, but I see no reason why that should be regarded as a counterthreat any more than EU is. Economic growth in SA would be good for all.
                To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

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                • #9
                  I never said it was a counter threat. And when I said grain of truth . . . . well it really was a grain :P

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                  • #10
                    IMO I personally cant wait until Chavez's foes are out of office. The he will have to answer to his own people for not living up to his campaign promises. What then? Sniff Sniff do you smell brimstone perhaps even SULFUR?

                    He must honestly feel that he is the best choice for his people by appointing himself dictator for life. Hmmm once a communist always a communist and we all know where that leads to.;)
                    Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

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                    • #11
                      Perhaps maybe the reason why Britian does'nt want to discuss this issue is that Chavez is in no position to be accusing anybody of anything much less recognize him for the disrespect he shovels to the U.N and the West i.e. go away little communist fido.
                      Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Quite!
                        Where's the bloody gin? An army marches on its liver, not its ruddy stomach.

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