The Union of South American Nations, Unasur presidents have been invited by Argentina to a ceremony in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, next 2 April when the official beginning of the Malvinas war three decades ago.
The law was ‘misinterpreted’ and “the authorization awarded to cruise vessels by the (Argentine) Foreign Affairs ministry was ignored”, claimed the president of Ushuaia Chamber of Tourism Marcelo Lietti reacting to the weekend decision to bar two red ensign cruises from entering Tierra del Fuego.
The British government has said it is a source of ”sadness and frustrated” that Argentina decided to turn away British tourists wishing to visit Argentina as a result of the ongoing row over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.
Argentina has banned two cruise ships from calling at Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego after they visited the Falkland Islands, apparently based on recent provincial legislation, according to reports in the Ushuaia media.
Argentine lawmakers from the entire political arch stamped on Saturday their support to the so called “Ushuaia declaration” claiming sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands and calling for dialogue with the UK to overcome the ongoing dispute.
Argentine members of the opposition have warned that they will not attend a Friday special session of the Senate and Lower House Foreign Affairs committees to be held in Tierra del Fuego and dedicated to the Malvinas issue unless the overall position of the diplomatic conflict is openly debated.
The Argentine congress will be holding an extraordinary session next 24 February in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego to debate on the Falklands/Malvinas conflict. Under the 1994 Argentine constitution, the Falklands come under the jurisdiction of the province of Tierra del Fuego.
A Malvinas war veteran drowned in an attempt to reach the Falkland Islands in a kayak from Ushuaia while his companion was rescued by an Argentine Navy patrol and is in hospital in a state of chock, reported the Buenos Aires press in the last day of 2011.
Argentina’s extreme south city and Antarctica cruise hub, Ushuaia is feeling the pinch from the latest Chilean measures to attract more vessels and is requesting a costs adjustment to improve competition conditions.
Argentina’s government is opening a new path to Tierra del Fuego that will give travellers, who once had to pass through Chile to reach the southernmost tip of the continent, the option of skipping Chile altogether.