Changes

There were later claims that Argentinian soldiers had booby-trapped children playgrounds and even toys in order to harm the local children, with only one documented case actually emerging of a hand grenade wedged under the floorboards of Stanley School that was found by Captain Brian Lloyd of the Royal Engineers but that was clearly aimed at causing casualties among the British troops like the booby-traps found in trenches and Stanley Racecourse that had been the former operating base of the 601st Combat Aviation Battalion.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/09/world/hills-around-falkland-capital-strewn-with-argentine-dead.html HILLS AROUND FALKLAND CAPITAL STREWN WITH ARGENTINE DEAD]</ref>

There were later claims that Argentinian soldiers had booby-trapped children playgrounds and even toys in order to harm the local children, with only one documented case actually emerging of a hand grenade wedged under the floorboards of Stanley School that was found by Captain Brian Lloyd of the Royal Engineers but that was clearly aimed at causing casualties among the British troops like the booby-traps found in trenches and Stanley Racecourse that had been the former operating base of the 601st Combat Aviation Battalion.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/09/world/hills-around-falkland-capital-strewn-with-argentine-dead.html HILLS AROUND FALKLAND CAPITAL STREWN WITH ARGENTINE DEAD]</ref>

The British also accused the Argentinian engineers of not keeping proper records on the location of the minefields, a clear violation of the Geneva Convention with Major Guv Lukas from the British bomb-disposal unit reporting. '''A number of formal mine fields were laid out. But these were then thickened up by indiscriminate helicopter scattering."''<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/09/world/hills-around-falkland-capital-strewn-with-argentine-dead.html HILLS AROUND FALKLAND CAPITAL STREWN WITH ARGENTINE DEAD]</ref>

The British also accused the Argentinian engineers of not keeping proper records on the location of the minefields, a clear violation of the Geneva Convention with Major Guv Lukas from the British bomb-disposal unit reporting. ''"A number of formal mine fields were laid out. But these were then thickened up by indiscriminate helicopter scattering."''<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/09/world/hills-around-falkland-capital-strewn-with-argentine-dead.html HILLS AROUND FALKLAND CAPITAL STREWN WITH ARGENTINE DEAD]</ref>

The Port Stanley Army Grouping commander, Brigadier-General Oscar Luis Jofre who oversaw the transfer of Port Stanley to the British authorities has contested the British claim that the Argentinian Army and Marines engineers had conducted themselves unprofessionally and has asserted that ''"although mines were brought forward by helicopter, they were never scattered by helicopter"''"and that "records were properly handed over by his engineer commander after the war"''.<ref>The British later made the accusation that some of the mines were scattered haphazardly by helicopter and again, that incomplete records were kept. Jofre stresses that, although mines were brought forward by helicopter, they were never scattered by helicopter. Also, he says, records were properly handed over by his engineer commander after the war. Argentine Fight for the Falklands, Martin Middlebrook, p. 225, Pen & Sword, 2003</ref>

The Port Stanley Army Grouping commander, Brigadier-General Oscar Luis Jofre who oversaw the transfer of Port Stanley to the British authorities has contested the British claim that the Argentinian Army and Marines engineers had conducted themselves unprofessionally and has asserted that ''"although mines were brought forward by helicopter, they were never scattered by helicopter"'' and that ''"records were properly handed over by his engineer commander after the war"''.<ref>''The British later made the accusation that some of the mines were scattered haphazardly by helicopter and again, that incomplete records were kept. Jofre stresses that, although mines were brought forward by helicopter, they were never scattered by helicopter. Also, he says, records were properly handed over by his engineer commander after the war.'' Argentine Fight for the Falklands, Martin Middlebrook, p. 225, Pen & Sword, 2003</ref>

Claims that the Argentinian forces had behaved like savages throughout the occupation were investigated with British war correspondents Patrick Joseph Bishop and ‎John Witherow establishing they were mostly hearsay:''"They had certainly been responsible for smashing up the solid old post office, and the backstreets of the town were littered with excrement. But although fourteen local men were taken from their homes during the occupation and sent to West Falkland where they were put under house arrest, few inhabitants were ill-treated. It was an uncomfortable rather than brutal regime... There were stories of looting but on closer examination this tended to be troops stealing buns from the deep-freeze or sleeping in beds with muddy boots. Some valuables and souvenirs were stolen and houses vandalized but the details of the outrages were vague. Most of the serious damage was done by the British shelling. One islander said without rencour that the British had caused more of a mess in Stanley than the Argentinians."''<ref> The Winter War: The Falklands, Patrick Joseph Bishop, John Witherow, p.143, Quartet Books, 1982</ref>

Claims that the Argentinian forces had behaved like savages throughout the occupation were investigated with British war correspondents Patrick Joseph Bishop and ‎John Witherow establishing they were mostly hearsay:''"They had certainly been responsible for smashing up the solid old post office, and the backstreets of the town were littered with excrement. But although fourteen local men were taken from their homes during the occupation and sent to West Falkland where they were put under house arrest, few inhabitants were ill-treated. It was an uncomfortable rather than brutal regime... There were stories of looting but on closer examination this tended to be troops stealing buns from the deep-freeze or sleeping in beds with muddy boots. Some valuables and souvenirs were stolen and houses vandalized but the details of the outrages were vague. Most of the serious damage was done by the British shelling. One islander said without rencour that the British had caused more of a mess in Stanley than the Argentinians."''<ref> The Winter War: The Falklands, Patrick Joseph Bishop, John Witherow, p.143, Quartet Books, 1982</ref>

Captain Jeremy Larken of HMS 'Fearless' confirms the view the Argentinian occupation foces had behaved appropriately:''"It was clear General Menendez had looked after things at Government House with almost loving care. Even the ornaments were still in their place. But once 3 Commando Brigade got in there and started using it as their headquarters, I think it suffered considerably. It's fair to say that the British were less careful with Port Stanley than had been the Argentine forces... In the early days, our control over our own people was not as good as it might have been. I won't say there was rape and pillage, but there was a great deal of acquisition of war materials."'' <ref>Forgotten Voices of the Falklands, Hugh McManners, p. 433, Random House, 2008</ref>

Captain Jeremy Larken of HMS 'Fearless' confirms the view the Argentinian occupation foces had behaved appropriately:''"It was clear General Menendez had looked after things at Government House with almost loving care. Even the ornaments were still in their place. But once 3 Commando Brigade got in there and started using it as their headquarters, I think it suffered considerably. It's fair to say that the British were less careful with Port Stanley than had been the Argentine forces... In the early days, our control over our own people was not as good as it might have been. I won't say there was rape and pillage, but there was a great deal of acquisition of war materials."'' <ref>Forgotten Voices of the Falklands, Hugh McManners, p. 433, Random House, 2008</ref>

Leftist anti-war veterans from the Buenos Aires-based 'Centro Ex-Combatientes Islas Malvinas' (Malvinas Islands Ex-Combatants Centre or CECIM) tell of being tied and pinned to the frozen ground with tent pegs for hours or punched and kicked for stealing from the food depots or shooting and killing sheep for food. In a 2019 interview with ‘Radio Noticias’, former Private Gustavo Placente from the 181st Military Police Company explained that field punishments were absolutely necessary to keep the conscript soldiers in line.

Leftist anti-war veterans from the Buenos Aires-based 'Centro Ex-Combatientes Islas Malvinas' (Malvinas Islands Ex-Combatants Centre or CECIM) tell of being tied and pinned to the frozen ground with tent pegs for hours or punched and kicked for stealing from the food depots or shooting and killing sheep for food. In a 2019 interview with ‘Radio Noticias’, former Private Gustavo Alberto Placente from the 181st Military Police Company explained that field punishments were indeed carried out but were absolutely necessary to keep the conscript soldiers in line.

==References==

==References==