MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine government apologize for forgetting the Falklands in a map of Argentina in New Year greetings

The ministry twitted a greetings message, “May 2017 finds us united and in peace” with a background map of Argentina but without the South Atlantic Islands.

The Argentine government apologized on Monday for having omitted the disputed Falkland Islands in a map of Argentina included in a New Year greetings message. “Our apologies for the mistake from the Design Department in our end of the year greetings”, twitted the Development Ministry for having not included the Malvinas Islands.

 On Saturday New Year's eve the ministry twitted a greetings message, “May 2017 finds us united and in peace” with a background map of Argentina but without the South Atlantic Islands.

The omission triggered an immediate reply from Malvinas veterans, ex president Cristina Fernandez supporters and social nets, which coincided that it was a “terrible” error and an offence to the Argentines who fought in the Malvinas war, and the almost a thousand that never came back.

It was also an excellent motive for Veterans and other opponents to the current constructive policy of the Macri administration towards the Falklands to criticize what is described as the “desmalvinización” or lowering the tone of claims over the Islands, and attempting to dismantle legislation limiting fisheries and the oil industry, among other issues to disrupt the Islands economy imposed during the Cristina Fernandez years.

Several former officials such as ex ambassador Alicia Castro question the recent the September statement in which UK and Argentina agree to remove the obstacles to the Falklands economy and its development in fisheries, tourism, navigation, hydrocarbons.

Likewise during December UK, Argentina and the Falklands have agreed to a protocol implemented by the International Red Cross for the identification of Argentine soldiers remains buried in the Darwin cemetery, and to begin talks for additional flights from the Islands to South America.

The president Macri administration has argued that the new approach to the Malvinas question does not imply dropping Argentina's sovereignty claims, but rather a friendly attitude towards the Falklands and Islanders will achieve much more than the previous aggressive stance.