Leopoldo Galtieri Quotes

17 Sourced Quotes

Remember when the British were defeated at Dunkirk during the Second World War? Well, in 1945 they were in Berlin. In other words, the fall of Puerto Argentino will not mean the end of conflict or our defeat. I therefore have no regrets. Indeed, I am not alone in believing that what we did on April 2 was right. All the Argentine people believe this.

Leopoldo Galtieri
Personally, I judged that a British retaliation was improbable. However, I never expected such a disproportionate response. Nobody expected it. Why would a nation in the heart of Europe be affected by some distant islands in the Atlantic which serve no national interest? I don't think it makes sense.

Leopoldo Galtieri
We are prepared to continue the dialogue, to search for ways to compose it together, to satisfy the interests of Great Britain, of the people of the Malvinas.

Leopoldo Galtieri
The blood that is spilling is not my responsibility. It is the responsibility of Mrs. 'No.'

Leopoldo Galtieri
[The Falklanders] are all British because the British have never allowed Argentinians to buy land, start businesses, get employment, or simply live there. If I were to go to Rome with enough money to get an apartment, a business, or just settle there, the Italian authorities would let me. The British however have kept these islands as a personal fiefdom and have prohibited Argentinians from settling there.

Leopoldo Galtieri
The nobility... of the Argentine people, in this square and all the country's squares, causes us to offer our hand to the adversary, but this must not be taken as weak- ness. If it is necessary, the people, whose feelings I try to interpret as President of the nation, will be ready... to offer a hand, a gesture of peace with nobility and in a gesture of peace with honour, but they will also be ready to teach a lesson to anyone who dares to touch a square metre of Argentine territory.

Leopoldo Galtieri
Even with the loss of Puerto Argentino and without internationalizing the conflict, we should have continued the action in such a way that the enemy would have been faced by serious, permanent and systematic difficulties and risks and be obliged to realize that we Argentines were not going to surrender.

Leopoldo Galtieri
... for 149 years, the Argentines have denounced the assault by the British in 1833 when they stole the Falklands, and have tried to recover them through diplomatic channels or through the United Nations for 17 years... British colonization could not continue.

Leopoldo Galtieri
Argentina will maintain its freedom of action to protect the nation's interests and honor, which will not be negociated... Argentina is not willing to renounce its historical rights over the islands and withdraw from what is hers the armed forces who are and represent the people of our nation.

Leopoldo Galtieri
I thought we could have put up more of a fight. Not that we were going to win, but that we would offer more resistance.

Leopoldo Galtieri
The flag of Argentina is raised here. For all the respect I have for the English people, Great Britain should understand that history has gone by, that centuries have passed, the world has evolved and certain things from the past cannot return.

Leopoldo Galtieri
Foreign debt and inflation have nothing to do with my decision. Indeed, I can assure you that [the Falklands war is] not going to alleviate inflation or debt. It is true that the Falklands have served to unite Argentines. But I swear and repeat that the idea of ​​solving these issues through war has never crossed my mind.

Leopoldo Galtieri
I am going because the Army did not give me the political support to continue as commander and President of the nation. I am not one of those who abandon the ship in the middle of tempests or difficult hours such as those the nation is living in today. The people of the nation know this.

Leopoldo Galtieri
My own opinion on Mrs Thatcher is very simple: I think she's unsuited to our historical period, and I say this referring to her as a prime minister, and not as a woman.

Leopoldo Galtieri
Observe where the islands are located, how the continental shelf extends over that area and connects the coast with the islands. It's easy to see the natural correlation between them and the mainland. Indeed, the Falklands belonged, and will belong, to us both historically and geographically.

Leopoldo Galtieri
Great Britain, will now have to determine its attitude toward the conflict, and it has the following possibilities: It can accept that the situation will never return to what it was before April 2, in which case we would maintain an attitude of negotiating for the recovery of our sovereignty. Or it can proceed toward the restoration of its colonial regime, with which there would be no security or definitive peace, and the responsibility of deepening the conflict would fall on Great Britain. In any case, the nation united, on its feet, motivated by the sentiment a united cause, will continue marching toward improving and strengthening itself.

Leopoldo Galtieri
Safeguarding national honour, without rancour but with firmness demanded by the circumstances, we have recovered the southern islands which are a legitimate part of our national territory. This decision was prompted by the need to put an end to the interminable seccession of evasive and dilatory tactics used by Great Britain to perpetuate its domination over the islands and their zone of influence. That evasive attitude was considered by the national government in the present circumstances as conclusive proof of Great Britain's lack of good will to begin serious negotiations without delay over the central question of the dispute and to recognize once and for all that their alleged rights stem from an act of seizure.

Leopoldo Galtieri