MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

HMS Endurance visit rejected by Ushuaia Malvinas veterans

HMS Endurance currently in the Antartica

Argentine Malvinas veterans from Tierra del Fuego in the extreme south of Argentina made public their dissatisfaction with the coming visit of Britain's ice patrol HMS Endurance to the port of Ushuaia next January 26.

Osvaldo Hilliart, president of the War Veterans Association from Ushuaia is quoted by Argentina's government news agency Telam saying that "the arrival of the vessel is irritating for the Malvinas veterans". "It's very unpleasant to see the vessel here, it's an insult to the veterans and those fallen in the war. If an Argentine man-o-war attempts a tactical call in the Malvinas the English would sink her. And we're going to render them honors" underlined Hilliart. According to information collected by the veterans HMS Endurance is coming from Antarctica and will be making a five days technical and logistical call to Ushuaia. This would be the second time HMS Endurance visits an Argentine port following the Falkland Islands 1982 conflict. The first time was in 2005 and was also surrounded by much controversy. On that occasion seamen from the Endurance and Malvinas veterans participated in a joint homage to those killed in the conflict, an event veterans allegedly are trying to prevent from happening. Hilliart said they would be contacting both Houses of the Argentine Congress and the Executive requesting the vessel be banned from calling in Ushuaia, and if this does not prosper they are planning to organize a "non welcome repudiation act" which they hope becomes extensive to the whole of Argentina. Hilliart said that the plan was considered with the Malvinas Veterans Association of Rio Grande and "we all shared the same bad taste". Besides "the Endurance had an active participation in Darwin during the transfer of prisoners" in the 1982 conflict. "The Islanders don't allow the next of kin to visit the Argentine cemetery in Darwin and the English have repeatedly ignored the United Nations calls to discuss the sovereignty issue. There's no way we should let this vessel in. It would be another abuse of British imperialism" he emphasized. HMS Endurance under Captain Bob Tarrant and with has a crew of 128 supports the British Antarctic Survey scientific research activities and supplies British bases and stations in Antarctica. Argentine next of kin regularly visit, (those who can afford the trip) the Argentine cemetery in Darwin. However the cemetery was redesigned and is now a monument which is awaiting official inauguration, an event that has been delayed several years because of misunderstandings between Argentine and British diplomacy.