Marchers take to the streets to mark Falklands anniversary

Marchers took to the streets of Buenos Aires yesterday to mark the 28^th anniversary of the Falklands War, given extra impetus this year by British oil exploration off the islands’ coastline.

The rally targeted the British Embassy in the Recoleta area of Buenos Aires, although a police cordon stopped protesters a few metres short of their destination.

The march was headed by Luis D’Elía, member of the CTA trade union and leader of the Central de Movimientos Populares. He said: “If we’d met with the British ambassador, we would have wanted to say that the islands were, are and always will be Argentine.”

Several trade unions and social groups took part in the march that rallied at 2pm yesterday before heading towards the embassy. The march culminated at 4pm when the bulk of the piqueteros dispersed, many of them driven away from the scene in privately-operated buses.

One of yesterday’s veterans’ groups, Asociación Civil Combatientes en Malvinas, called for a blockade of the “pirate” oil platform Ocean Guardian, operated by the UK’s Desire Petroleum, and a boycott of British companies within Argentina.

A separate demonstration was organised by Resistencia Patriótica, two blocks from the embassy. Speaking on Thursday, founder Toni López said he planned to send a boat to the archipelago to forcibly take the islands’ back, although he wouldn’t comment on a date.

Speaking at a memorial in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, President Cristina Kirchner re-emphasised her desire to win back sovereignty of the ‘Malvinas’. She called the British presence “an exercise in colonialism, maybe one of the last of the 21^st century.”

Relations between Argentina and Britain have become increasingly strained in recent months due to offshore oil exploration undertaken by four British companies.

Whilst Britain has steadfastly refused to discuss sovereignty of the Falkands, it said it would hold talks on the oil exploration issue.