Argentina: Kirchner claims sovereignty over Falklands during war's anniversary

Commemorating the silver anniversary of the end of the Falklands War, Argentine President Nestor Kirchner expressed hope that the Falklands islands will return to Argentina. In a speech at a Buenos Aires rally earlier today, Kirchner also responded defiantly to remarks made by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher:

“President Kirchner underlined that the British ‘may have won a battle (but) they will never win justly with reason because the Malvinas (Falklands) belong to Argentina.'”

Since losing the Falklands War in 1982, Argentina has held resentment against the British who (as Kirchner mentioned today) “massacred Argentine youth and soldiers.” That resentment has expressed itself diplomatically as was the case in earlier this year when the Argentine government refused to cooperate in a bilateral commemoration of the war.

Sources (Spanish)- Clarin

Sources (English)- Bloomberg, Monsters & Critics, The Latin Americanist, BBC News, CNN

Image- BBC News (A guard stands watch over a Falklands War memorial in Buenos Aires)