MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Taiana admits Tories are ‘tougher’ on Malvinas but promises a ‘hot’ June

Actors dressed as soldiers perform the Malvinas war chapter during the Bicentenary commemoration

Argentine Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Taiana admitted that the new conservative British government of PM David Cameron is taking ”a tougher stance” than its predecessors towards the Argentine claim on the Falkland/Malvinas Islands' sovereignty.

But he insisted that the British position on the issue is “colonial and anti-history,” and repeated that Argentina will continue “to look after the Argentines' heritage and non-renewable resources.”

“I'm sorry that the United Kingdom insists on maintaining a clearly wrong and somewhat anti-history attitude,” since they “insist in keeping a colonial position,” he said. The Foreign Minister added that in general, “conservatives have held a tougher stance and refused” to discuss the Islands' sovereignty.

However, Taiana said he was surprised, because “British governments usually tend to reject any sort of dialogue with Argentina”, and remarked that President Cristina Kirchner's government would ”insist“ on the matter in every international forum.

”We know we're right, we know that the way to move forward on this issue is the UN, and that the UK has to comply with international law and the UN resolutions,“ he added.

The official recalled that they will take the matter to the Organization of American States, OAS, summit in the next few days in order to make both countries begin talks. The OAS general assembly convenes June 7/8 in Lima, Peru and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to attend.

”June is a very active month regarding this issue, and we will maintain our claim and our actions in defence of our rights and our natural resources,“ he highlighted.

Taiana explained that the Argentine Government must ”look after the Argentines' heritage and non-renewable resources and people should be “on high alert”, albeit always through the means of international law.

Taiana’s latest statements follow several days of strong positions and appeals from both sides. On Tuesday during the inauguration of the Latinamerican Patriots Gallery in Government House, as part of the Argentine bicentenary celebrations, President Cristina Kirchner before seven South American leaders reiterated the sovereignty claim over the Falklands.

“We are doing it with the strength and conviction of knowing that as subjects of International Law we must respect norms to which all of us, big and small, weak and powerful, are compelled to abide”, said Mrs Kirchner.

Presidents attending included Brazil, Lula da Silva; Chile’s Sebastián Piñera; Bolivia’s Evo Morales; Paraguay’s Fernando Lugo; Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez; Ecuador’s Rafael Correa and Uruguay’s Jose Mujica.

The Malvinas conflict was also present at the 200 years parade of Argentine historic events which was one of the highlights of the bicentenary commemorations.

A battalion of fully clad soldiers with helmets and protected with ponchos marched under pouring rain, as part of the theatrical representation, and at a given moment at the sound of a bomb explosion has the combatants “killed” face on the ground while a white cross flops up from their back packs in what seemed a re-edition of the Argentine cemetery in Darwin. An impressive performance.

Together with the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, and their white head scarves, (mothers and grandmothers of the disappeared during the military regime of the seventies), illuminated on a grand platform while they silently rotate, were the two chapters of the parade most applauded by the hundreds of thousands that turned out to the streets of Buenos Aires.