Sir: I would appreciate if you could publish My answer
to Mr Day's letter (Spectator 26 June) which calls for the following observa- tions:
In each of my broadcast reports since the first day of the crisis I have used the names `Falklands' and `Malouines' inter- changeably. Moreover I have invariably referred to the capital as 'Port Stanley'.
Mr Day's confusion seems to be of an etymological nature; the Malouines derive their name from St Malo, and the Spanish name 'Malvinas' is a direct translation from the original French — and not vice versa. I imagine that it is this error that has led Mr Day into believing that the use of the term `Malouines' implies an alignment with the Argentines. The French refer to the English Channel as 'La Manche' and to the Falklands as 'Les Malouines'; there are not underlying political assumptions in the use of either.
I felt it my duty, as the London cor- respondent of Antenne 2, to reflect as faithfully as possible Great Britain's posi- tion throughout this affair — so much so, in fact, that I frequently received letters of protest from Latin-Americans living in France accusing me of a pro-British bias.
Mr Day's letter demonstrates that it is difficult to satisfy everybody and perhaps this is all for the best.
Bernard Rapp
Video House,
48 Charlotte Street, London WI
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