British begin Falklands attack, says Argentina

Press, 10 May 1982, Page 1

British begin Falklands attack, says Argentina

NZPA-Reuter Buenos Aires The Argentinian military high command said British forces had begun an attack on the Falkland Islands early yesterday, but this was denied by the British authorities.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence denied what it called reports from foreign sources that the British task force had begun an attack to recover the islands. The British statement said:

“There are reports from foreign sources that our task force has begun an attack to recover the Falkland Islands. This is not true.

“We are, of course, continuing our patrols to maintain the total exclusion zone around the Falklands.”

Argentinian military forces in Buenos Aires said that Britain made a 50-min-ute attack on the Falklands capital of Port Stanley at 1.40 a.m. local time yesterday, following up a naval bombardment with bombing by Sea Harriers, and helicopters.

Argentina officially announced the attack earlier in a communique from the. Joint Chiefs of Staff which said that at the time “British troops began an attack on Puerto Argentine (Port Stanley) in the Malvinas (Falklands).” The communique gave no details but said the attack was “being repelled.” . • The military sources said the attack lasted about' 50 minutes. The first shots came from, frigates, with SeaHarriers and helicopters moving in under cover of artillery fire.

In New York, progress was reported in exploratory talks to find a Falklands settlement, but diplomats in, London said time was running out for the United Nations peacemakers. Argentina said its military forces were ready to defy the 12-mile blockade Britain imposed on its coastline from the River Plate to Cape Horn. First word that the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Javier de Cuellar, had made some headway in his effort to bring the two sides together came after he spent most of the day holding separate talks with Argen-

tina's Deputy Foreign Minister,’ Mr Enrique Ros, and Britain’s United Nations representative, Sir Anthony Parsons.

A United Nations spokesman said, “Progress has been achieved on some issues.” The Secretary-General was urgently trying to narrow other differences. He said both sides were consulting their Governments.

In Buenos Aires, the Rightwing federal party leader, Mr Francisco Manrique, emerged from talks with President Leopoldo Galtiefi and said, “There will be battles in the south Atlantic more important than those that have occurred to date. They are not far off.”

Argentina’s military high command accused Britain of committing a new act of aggression by threatening to attack any Argentine warships or planes that ventured more than 12 miles from the mainland. It said the Argentinian armed forces had been “alerted to act as necessary.”

Britain announced that it was reinforcing its battle fleet off the Falklands after the destruction of a destroyer and the loss of .three Harrier jets. The question .being asked in Western diplomatic circles yesterday was how. long the Prime Minister (Mrs Thatcher) was prepared to wait for any sign of a breakthrough, at the United Nations.

With a seven-point Peru-vian-United States peace plan apparently in limbo, MrPerez du Cuellar was the only mediator in the field. Diplomatic sources said he was under pressure to produce some quick results because Britain’s options were being narrowed by hardening international opinion and the onset of the Antarctic winter.'

But Argentina’s Foreign Minister, Dr Nicanor Costa Mendez, told reporters, “While there are negotiations, there is hope of achieving peace.” ■ However, Venezuela’s Defence Minister said in Caracas that Argentina, deprived

of arms from its main suppliers — the United States and France — had asked his country for military equipment and spares. Argentina yesterday imposed a temporary ban on British subjects entering the country. Argentina’s Economics Minister, Dr Roberto Alemann, was heading yesterday for an International Monetary Fund meeting in Helsinki to speak out against economic sanctions imposed by the European Economic Community. In Brussels, diplomats said Britain could probably count on an extension of Community sanctions against Argentina but a formal decision was unlikely to be taken until later this week.

In Costa Rica, the leaders of Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Venezuela signed a document calling for a quick end to hostilities over the Falklands.

Argentina has reinforced defensive positions in southern mainland ports to face an announced British blockade of its entire coast. The commander of the fifth corps, based in the southern port of Comodoro Rivadavia,’ was quoted in the daily “Clarin” as saying more troops would be transferred to the coastal area “to avert the danger of a British attack.”

Major-General Jorge Garcia, who commanded the Argentinian task force which seized the Falklands (Malvinas) on April 2, told the newspaper that, measures were being taken to meet a possible British attack against the mainland. “In prevention of this possibility, troops from other areas are being transferred in order to be, at the same time, able to support any action in the Malvinas if necessary,” he was quoted as spying. The Argentinian Foreign Minister said that Britain’s decision to extend its war zone to within 12 miles of the

mainland amounted, to an escalation of the conflict and betrayed “an absence of good faith” in Britain’s attitude towards peace negotiations. No fighting has been reported since Tuesday when an Argentinian fighterbomber knocked out the British destroyer Sheffield. The independent news agency, Dyn, quoted military sources in Bahia Blanca, the Argentine Navy’s main base, as saying that the British task force was apparently “licking its wounds” and waiting for reinforcements.