Twenty-five years ago, Miguel Boyero was aboard the Argentinian warship the General Belgrano when it was sunk by torpedoes fired from a British submarine at the start of the Falkland Islands war.

Boyero survived; 329 of his comrades died. Last month, Boyero hanged himself just days after the start of the war’s 25th anniversary commemorations. He joins an estimated 400 Argentinian veterans who have committed suicide since the conflict ended.

For most Argentinans the belief that Las Malvinas (as they call the Falklands) belong to Argentina is as much a part of their national identity as Eva Peron, Maradona or the tango. But while the national preoccupation with their sovereign right over the Falklands has never dimmed, Argentina’s treatment of its veterans has been one of the most shameful legacies of the war.

This article was first published in The First Post in May 2007. Click here to read it in full.