Falklands Fake? Who were the Sun’s ‘furious Argies’ seen burning Union flags in Buenos Aires?
“ANGRY Argies burn a British flag in Buenos Aires yesterday after The Sun warned: ‘Hands off the Falklands’,” reports the Sun beneath the front-page headline: “Burn us Aires.”
A seething mob took to the streets to set fire to the Union Jacks — and copies of our full-page advert in a local paper.
The noble Sun had taken the out an advert in the English language Buenos Aires Herald. The stunt was in response to Argentine president Cristina Kirchner’s advert in the Guardian and Independent newspapers accusing Britain of “stripping” the Falklands from her country in an aggressive act of colonialism 180 years ago.
The Falklands Conflict in photos.
Said the Sun:
“Until the people of the Falkland Islands choose to become Argentinian, they remain resolutely British.”
Cue a very small protest in a Buenos Aires street. The Sun, however, sees a ”seething mob”:
One shaven-headed man in a camouflage jacket set fire to a copy of The Sun’s advert. A surly trucker snarled at our reporter: “I won’t speak to you because you’re British.”
That shaven-headed man looks, well, very British. Good of him to position the Sun’s masthead atop the fire. Good of the Sun’s man on the spot of see it all. Odd that the man was not named.
Cristina Kirchner’s advert
The Sun’s advert
The burning masthead
The burning with rage local
The same man in the same clothes was burning things outside the British embassy in Buenos Aires to mark the 30th anniversary of the Falklands war in April 2012.
ID-ed. He’s Argentina veteran of the Falklands War, Marcelo Wytrykusz.
The video
Posted: 5th, January 2013 | In: News Comments (3) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
January 7th, 2013 at 2:37 pm
Wytrykusz – that’s a traditional Argentinian name if ever I heard one….
January 7th, 2013 at 1:52 pm
The tyre with ‘news’paper photo looks like a mock up to me. Floating newspaper
January 6th, 2013 at 6:55 am
I am British and live in Brazil. I regularly meet plenty of Argies who have come to Brazil to make a life for themselves as there are not too many opportunities in Argentina right now (their words not mine). I have been told when I have asked why Argentinians keep burning my bloody flag? and do they have any idea how stupid it makes them look?
The answer is it is a form of national service. If you are on the dole in Argentina you have to perform ‘national service’ (its called something else but can’t remember the exact name) which means to get your benefit money the Government will ask you to turn up to a rally or a demonstration and will hand out placards to hold up etc etc. I am told that most people will not have a clue what they are demonstrating about until they get there and if they refuse or do not turn up – then they don’t get paid.
I don’t know if this is fact, but a number of different Argentinians have told me this and I am inclined to believe them, although this guy looks like he may be a veteran of the 82 conflict – I don’t think too many Brits will have an Argentinian war medal and a tattoo of the Falkland islands colored with the Argentinean flag (2nd pic left arm)?
I have to add that I have met loads and loads of Argies here, and they are all good people and I have yet to meet a bad one. It’s a bloody shame that once again they have a Micky Mouse Government that is taking their country down the pan.