ARGENTINA: Some 400 protesters and war veterans turn out to support Argentina's claim over the Falkland Islands and to protest recent comments by British Prime Minister David Cameron over the issue

Record ID: 446874

  • Title: ARGENTINA: Some 400 protesters and war veterans turn out to support Argentina's claim over the Falkland Islands and to protest recent comments by British Prime Minister David Cameron over the issue
  • Date: 26th January 2012
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF PROTEST LEADERS ON STAGE AS AUDIENCE SINGS ARGENTINE NATIONAL ANTHEM
  • Embargoed: 10th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina, Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA2E0ZUL9FWHWQKCKZXVB3WOM6C
  • Story Text: Hundreds of demonstrators turned out on Tuesday (January 24) to march in support of Argentina's sovereignty claim over the Falkland Islands, which it calls Las Malvinas.
    Veterans of the bloody 1982 conflict with the UK also came out for the protest which was held near the tightly guarded British Embassy.
    Dozens of police and security forces surrounded the embassy, but the demonstration of some 400 people remained peaceful.
    Many gathered specifically to protest the recent statements of British Prime Minister David Cameron, who accused Argentina of "colonialism" over its claim to the Falklands.
    "England wants to bring the issue to the table again, but from the colonial point of view. We want to look at it from the sovereign point of view - within the framework of the United Nations to discuss the sovereignty of the Islands between Argentina and Great Britain," said protester Emilio Persico.
    The most recent flare-up in the ongoing controversy between Argentina and the UK made headlines after a December decision by the South American trading block Mercosur to agree that vessels sailing under a Falkland Islands flag would be banned from docking at any of its ports.
    Argentina invaded the islands in 1982 only to be expelled after a two-month war with Britain.
    London has controlled the islands, about 300 miles (480 km) off the Argentine coast, since 1833. The Falklands War resulted in the deaths of 255 British and about 650 Argentine soldiers.
    The British government says it will only agree to sovereignty talks if the territory's 3,000 residents ask it to, and that the islanders want to remain British.
    Tensions have risen in recent years over offshore oil exploration, and have gained steam before the April anniversary of the conflict as well as the planned tour of duty on the islands by Britain's Prince William, an RAF helicopter pilot, later this year.
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