Argentina continues to claim sovereignty over the Falkland Islands

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Argentina's president hugs a veteran, at the Falklands Museum, in Buenos Aires, during the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the start of the war against Britain, April 2, 2022. — Argentina’s president hugs a veteran, at the Falklands Museum, in Buenos Aires, during the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the start of the war against Britain, April 2, 2022.

Forty years after the 74-day war lost by the Argentine troops sent under the last dictatorship of the country (1976-1983), President Alberto Fernandez claimed, on Saturday April 2, the sovereignty of his country over the Falkland Islands, occupied by the British,

“Honor to our soldiers (…) The Falklands were, are and will be Argentine. We will never back down on our demands.”said Mr. Fernandez, during a ceremony in the gardens of the Falklands Museum, in Buenos Aires.

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The Argentinian head of state urged the United Kingdom “to abandon its unjustified and disproportionate military presence on these islands, which only puts tension in a region that is characterized by being an area of peace and international cooperation. »

Many events across the country

Thousands of activists from left-wing organizations marched through the capital, to the British Embassy, against “British Imperialist Aggression”. In many cities across the country, tens of thousands of people, including veterans, also took part in ceremonies, vigils and torchlight marches in honor of the war dead. At the end of air, ground and naval battles, 649 Argentine soldiers died, and 255 British.

Boca Juniors players pose with a banner reading 'The Falklands unite us' before an Argentine soccer championship match at La Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires on April 2, 2022. — Boca Juniors players pose with a banner reading ‘The Falklands unite us’ before an Argentine soccer championship match at La Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires on April 2, 2022.

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For Argentina, these islands, called Malvinas and inherited from the Spanish crown after the independence of the country, were occupied by British troops in 1833, the governor and the Argentine settlers being then expelled to the mainland.

The United Kingdom argues for its part that nearly 100% of the 2,000 inhabitants of the archipelago, located some 12,600 km as the crow flies from London and which it calls the Falklands, approved the maintenance under control Britain in a referendum in 2013. This is London’s main argument for ignoring a 1965 United Nations resolution evoking a dispute over sovereignty and inviting the two countries to negotiate.