MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina blasts UK arrogance and “end of war celebration” in Falklands

Minister Puricelli and the top commanders of the Armed Forces at the ceremony

Argentine Defence Minister Arturo Puricelli said on Monday that the United Kingdom maintains its “arrogance and haughtiness” over the Malvinas sovereignty issue as the 30th anniversary of the end of the war approaches.

Puricelli claimed “the UK will press on with its arrogance and haughtiness as its only argument to continue the occupation of the Malvinas Islands” adding that the UK is not interested in diplomacy because of “the fragility of its arguments and lack of rights to the Islands”

The minister made the remarks during a ceremony to mark the day of Argentina’s affirmation of sovereignty over the Malvinas and Antarctic Islands and Antarctic Sector which is celebrated on Sunday June 10.

The official also rejoiced President Cristina Fernández participation in next Thursday's June 14 United Nations conference on decolonisation in New York City.

The Argentine president is scheduled to attend the meeting of the UN's Committee of 24 (Special Committee on Decolonisation) on June 14, which is commemorated by the Falkland Islands as Liberation Day and remembers the end of the 74-day war triggered by the Argentine military occupation of the Islands on 2 April 1982.

“Today we are commemorating the 183 years of the first Argentine government of Malvinas, and that sovereignty is going to be defended by the attendance of President Cristina Fernandez before the United Nations Decolonization Committee, where she will reaffirm the Argentine determination, unrenounceable and unalienable to claim Argentina’s unquestionable rights over the Malvinas and South Atlantic Islands”, underlined Puricelli.

However the Malvinas with the British invasion of 1833 “were usurped and our first governor dislodged” recalled Puricelli. Nevertheless “we are convinced, things are going to change because we will be adding another brick in the recovery of our Malvinas through diplomacy”.

Puricelli then made a reference to the presence of Foreign Office minister Jeremy Browne in the Faklands insisting that it is the intention of the UK “to maintain and increase the militarization of the South Atlantic” and anticipated that Browne’s disrespect for the Decolonization Committee (“nothing is going to change”) only is a confirmation of the UK arrogance and force, as the only reason to continue occupying our Malvinas Islands.

The minister contrasted the participation of President Cristina Fernandez in the UN Committee on Decolonization with the presence of Browne in “the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War”.

He also underlined this will be the first British State Secretary to pay a state visit to the Falklands since January 2008, and criticized the fact that on that date there will be an unusual deployment of air, sea, underwater and marine troops in the Islands.

The ceremony headed by Minister Puricelli was attended by the top posts of the Ministry of Defence, the Armed Forces Chief of Staff, commanders of the three services and organizations of Malvinas veterans and next of kin.