Page 132 - Conflitti Militari e Popolazioni Civili - Tomo II

634 XXXIV Congresso della CommIssIone InternazIonale dI storIa mIlItare • CIHm

a recovery of territory occupied by the United Kingdom. In spite of that, the humanitarian
principles contained in the Convention and those which guided the planning of the landing
and later deployment of troops on the islands were carefully observed and complied with by
the argentine Gobernación Militar.
“Acknowledgment of the status of occupant is the first and the most important initial
indication that the occupant will respect the law of occupation. Such an acknowledgment is
also likely to restrict the occupant´s future actions and limit its claims regarding the ultimate
status of that territory”. Argentina did not acknowledge a situation of territory “occupa-
72
tion” but one of “recovery” of “usurped” territory which was rapidly constituted as a new
province.
As for the attitude of local population, the Argentine Army’s Official Report on the Malvi-
nas Conflict, assumes that it had its effects on the military operations. Thus, their nationality,
idiosyncrasy, distribution and clearly anti-Argentine position permitted the following: “1)
Availability by the enemy of a large number of information sources, expert guides, support,
etc.; 2) Possibility, for the enemy, to infiltrate special forces among the population; 3) The
need to use part of the forces in order to control the population; 4) The availability of radio
electric equipment in the different rural farms permitted, in some cases, the transmission of
information to different points of the island and to the fleet, thus providing the enemy with an
intelligent, timely and updated information on the activities of the Argentine forces, in spite
of the control operations implemented with the use of helicopters, which were reduced to a
minimum as from 1 May due to the enemy’s air raids; and 5) Support provided to the enemy
with boats and small watercraft.” 73

Even if the Report acknowledges the islanders’ contribution to the British victory, the
Argentine forces maintained a strictly correct attitude towards the population. “In the period
between 2 April and 14 June 1982, no inhabitant of the islands was the victim of criminal
actions against their life, honor or integrity attributable to the armed forces. There were only
infringements against the property which, even if they could not be avoided, they certainly
did not go unpunished. Furthermore, all persons affected were indemnified, without preju-
dice to the investigation of the events and their consideration by military courts sitting at
Puerto Argentino.” 74
The Argentine troops did not commit any acts of pillage, rape or abuse of whatever na-
ture, in spite of the great concentration of soldiers in the area of Puerto Argentino. The popu-
lation, men, women and children alike, moved around in total security and tranquility, even
on the last days of struggle.
After the end of the war, there was an investigation in Argentina on the behavior of the
Argentine leaders. As regards the actions of the Military Government on the islands, the so-
called Rattenbach Report established as a failure in its “Conclusions about Actual Planning”
that “a military was appointed as governor, instead of a civilian. This last alternative would

72 Benvenisti, Eyal, “The Law of Occupation”, page 5.
73 Argentine Army, Official Report, Volume 1, page 14
74 Colonel Francisco E. Machinandiarena, Secretary of Communications of the Military Government, in
Aguiar, F.R. colonel (coordinator), “Operaciones Terrestres en las Islas Malvinas”, page 93