Buenos Aires, Jan 3 (EFE).- The Argentine government presented an action “agenda” this Monday that it plans to launch to mark the 40th anniversary of the war with Britain over the Malvinas Islands and strengthen Argentina’s claim to sovereignty over the islands in the South Atlantic.

“The Malvinas family must unite and guide us all without coercion, and in this agenda every sector can solemnly propose from where they wish to acknowledge the victims and their families,” Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said at the handover ceremony.

The “40th Anniversary of the Malvinas Agenda” was launched on Monday after the 189th anniversary of what Argentina considers the “illegal occupation” of the Falkland Islands by Britain.

The program of activities that will take place this year to commemorate the 1982 war has been incorporated into a virtual platform, where you can also view documentary and audiovisual information on the Malvinas issue.

All activities, both in Argentina and in other countries, will have the common motto “The Malvinas unite us” and their main goal is to pay homage to those who died in the war, to recognize ex-combatants and their families and to provide greater visibility in the world. world against Argentina’s claim to sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime space.

“We will never relinquish our claim to sovereignty because we believe that its implementation is crucial for the determination of our autonomy in the continental, maritime, archipelagic and Antarctic regions,” Argentine Defense Minister Jorge Taiana said at the event.

NO NEGOTIATION

Since 1520, the Falklands have been part of the territory under Spanish jurisdiction.

Following Argentina’s declaration of independence in 1816, the Argentine flag was flown for the first time in the archipelago in 1820.

In 1829, the then Argentine Government established the Political and Military Command of Malvinas, with Luis Vernet as head, who settled on the islands as governor.

Then, on January 3, 1833, Britain occupied the islands and expelled its inhabitants and rulers of Argentina, who had always claimed sovereignty over the islands.

In 1965 the United Nations decided that Argentina and Britain should sit down at the negotiating table to find a solution to the dispute.

In accordance with the resolution, since 1966 and for 16 years, the two countries have been negotiating.

The two countries fought for the sovereignty of the Malvinas in a war that began on April 2, 1982, with the landing of Argentine troops in the archipelago, and ended in June of that year with their surrender to British troops.

In the war, 255 British, three islanders and 649 Argentines died.

Since the end of the war, Britain has refused to resume negotiations with Argentina, despite repeated calls for dialogue by the United Nations and other international forums.

As Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a statement on Monday, Britain’s refusal to resume negotiations was “compounded” by Britain’s “continuous” “unilateral” actions, which included exploitation of natural resources and the conduct of exercises. military in the area. EFE

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