This week has been great. I moved into my new apartment, and my roommates are very nice and super easy-going.  Though I am paying more than I did for my previous apartment, the experience of living with Argentines, plus the great location and great neighborhood definitely make it worth it.

I was eating dinner with my roommates and we were watching tv, when I was very suprised to see Hillary Clinton having a press conference with the president of Argentina, Kristina Fernández de Kirchner.  I knew that Hillary Clinton was planning to visit Chile (Read this article for an interesting comparison between the Chilean and Haitian earthquakes), but I was not aware that Argentina was on her itinerary as well.

During the conference, Kirchner asked Clinton for US to mediate between Argentina and Great Britain over the ongoing row over the Malvinas Islands (or the Falklands as the British call them).  When she asked this, an audible "ooooh" escaped my lips which could have been interpreted as disapproval or trepidation perhaps.  My roommates snapped their heads back to look at me and asked, "You disapprove?" I told them, that I thought it was a good idea, but I thought it would be politically difficult for the US to do.  Allow me to explain...

These islands were first explored by the French, but in 1765 a British explorer, unaware of the small French presence explored the islands and claimed them for England.  When the US Revolutionary War began in 1776, Britain abandoned the islands to use these resources in the war, leaving behind a plaque claiming them for Britain.  The Spanish Crown then asserted itself on the islands (already in control of modern day Latin America, with the exception of Brazil which was under Portuguese control) until it too left in 1811.  In 1820, the first claiming of the islands took place by the Argentine government.  Thirteen years later, a British commander returned, informing the Argentine governor that he planned to reassert British sovereignty over the islands.

Since the 20th century, Argentina and the UK have continued to argue with each other over who really controls the island.  What makes it particularly complicated is that the majority of the residents of the island are of British descent and would prefer to remain under British rule.  The Argentines insist that they have claim to the islands, which even resulted in a war in 1982 when the ruling military junta invaded the islands in an attempt to distract Argentines from the domestic economic woes.  The British defeated Argentina a little over 2 months later after 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen had been killed.  This defeat along with domestic chaos led to the eventual abdication of the military junta, and democracy was established.

Since the war, Argentina has continued to insist its sovereign rights over the islands.  Its even in the constitution, and the issue is often used in presidential campaigns.  The issue has come up again very recently after British oil companies have begun searching for oil off the coast of the islands.  Argentina has brought it before the UN and has now asked for the US to mediate.

Clinton this week proposed the idea to Gordon Brown, to which the British Prime Minister said "thanks, but no thanks".  The British insist that there is no need for negotiations as they have sovereign rights over the islands, and the people of the islands want British rule.  The Argentines see things differently, and the island wound is open anew now that drilling has begun.

Important warnings to all visitors though: 1.  When in Argentina, call them the Malvinas (NOT Falklands) and 2. if you happen to side with the British on this one, don't tell an Argentine.