MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina commemorates 10 June as Reaffirmation Day of Rights over South Atlantic Islands

Buenos Aires Governor Martin Rodríguez

Argentina commemorates 10 June as the Reaffirmation Day of Argentine Rights over the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, and surrounding maritime spaces. A commemoration that has its roots on a fundamental event that took place in 1829, according to an official release from the Argentine foreign ministry.

 “On that day, the delegate governor of Buenos Aires, Martin Rodriguez and his minister Salvador Maria del Carril signed a Law-decree creating the Political and Military Commandance of the Malvinas and adjacent Islands to Cape Horn in the Atlantic Sea. This action with HQ in the Soledad Island (East Falkland) and jurisdiction over the South Atlantic islands close to Cape Horn, represented a decisive step to consolidate the Argentine presence and reaffirm its legitimate rights over those territories. The establishment of this Commandance is a historic pillar which sustains the Argentine claim over the Malvinas and surrounding areas”.
What follows are the creation decrees, which are kept at the Argentine Nation National Archives.
Buenos Aires, 10 June 1829.

When the glorious revolution of 25 May 1810, these provinces were separated from the metropolis dominance, Spain has a material possession of the Malvinas Islands and all the rest surrounding Cape Horn, including those known under the denomination of Tierra del Fuego, with that possession justified under the right of first occupancy, with the consent of the principal maritime powers from Europe, and because of the adjacency of the islands to the continent which was part of the Buenos Aires Viceroy, on whose government they depended. For this reason having the government of the Republic accessed the succession of all the rights which the former metropolis it had over those provinces, and enjoyed by its viceroys, it has continued to exercise the dominion of those islands, its ports an coasts; despite the fact circumstances have not permitted until now to give that part of the territory belonging to the Republic, the attention and care which their importance demands. But since it is necessary not to delay further those measures that can put under cover the rights of the Republic, and at the same time enjoying the advantages which the produce of those islands can provide and ensuring the adequate protection of its population, the Government has agreed and decreed,

Article 1,: The Malvinas Islands and adjacencies to Cape Horn in the Atlantic Sea will be ruled by a political and military Commander immediately named by the Government of the Republic.

Article 2: The residence of the political and military commander will be in the Soledad Island with the establishment of a battery under the pavilion of the Republic.

Article 3: The political and military commander will make the population of those islands abide the laws of the Republic and will ensure along its coasts the compliance of rules on the fishing of amphibious.

Article 4, Let it be known and published.

Martín Rodríguez
Salvador María del Carril
In accordance Francisco Pico (Signature).

Some history background

The Journal from the End of the World, the name of the Argentine newspaper forum Ushuaia that keeps track of Falklands’ events and dates published that on 9 June 1948, the Argentine Executive created the Antarctica and Malvinas Division, as a dependency from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, according to Decree 17.040. The new Division will try to encompass everything related to the defense of Argentine legal rights over Antarctica, the islands of Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich.

The previous year a Subcommittee on the Malvinas and South Georgia Islands was created in charge of collecting and studying all the documents and background existing in Argentina regarding those insular territories, with the main task of preparing an official work/document on the Argentine rights over those territories.

These actions were a strategy designed by the government of Juan Domingo Peron, who was trying to take advantage of the decolonization tendency which prevailed following World War II.

And some concrete actions took place in the conflict area, towards the end of 1947. The Argentine navy initiated military exercises in waters close to the Falklands, which included the landing of personnel and equipment in several of South Atlantic islands. UK reacted and following some minor frictions, Argentine forces withdrew.

In 1952 the Argentine government announced plans to occupy some of the disputed islands, which led to a series of minor incidents in Bahia (Hope) Esperanza, Antarctica. The following year there was a landing at Deception Island from the South Shetlands. Again UK sent a naval force to ensure the Argentines withdrew.

Towards the end of 1953, tension in the Esperanza Bahia had disappeared but not long after the conflict area moved to Dundee island, “when and where the reply capacity of UK was proven to be weak. But exercises from both sides were limited to symbolic actions”.

However on that same year, Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, President Peron sent to the ceremony the head of the Argentine Senate, Rear Admiral Alberto Tesaire, proposing that the Falklands/Malvinas were handed to Argentina through a private operation involving a transfer of funds. “But the UK government did not accept, given the critical political situation in Great Britain.”

In 1955 President Peron faced a military rebellion which forced him to flee the country,