Argentina presses case on Falklands

Argentina's president is pressing her country's claim to the Falkland Islands with a high-profile appearance before a little-known UN committee on the 30th anniversary of Britain's ousting of an Argentinian invasion force.

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's attendance at the annual meeting of the world body's Decolonisation Committee is the first by a head of state, and she is coming with dozens of supporters.

By contrast, the Falkland Islands will be represented by two members of the Legislative Assembly, accompanied by six young islanders.

Argentina claims Britain has illegally occupied the islands they call the Islas Malvinas since 1833.

Britain disputes Argentina's claim to the islands and said Argentina ignores the wishes of the island's 3,000 residents who have expressed a desire to remain British.

Argentina maintains that the residents do not have the unilateral right to decide what they want the islands to be.

The clash over the islands flared into a brief war in 1982 when Argentina's then-military dictatorship invaded the archipelago in the south Atlantic, more than 290 miles off South America's coast.

Ms Kirchner asked the 24-member Decolonisation Committee to schedule the annual discussion of the Falkland Islands' status on the anniversary of Britain's victory that ended the 74-day conflict, a move apparently aimed at highlighting the ongoing dispute.

Britain's UN Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant recalled that on the 20th anniversary of the conflict there were a lot of joint commemorative events honouring the 649 Argentines, 255 British soldiers, and three islanders who died in the war and "it was done in a very statesman-like way".

It is "very sad", Mr Lyall Grant said, that "this year the Argentinians for obviously purely domestic political reasons have hyped up the rhetoric in a massive way and are using every opportunity to try to internationalise the issue and get support from the regional organisations and make a song and dance at the UN".

For about a year, Argentina has been intensifying its campaign to pressure Britain into sovereignty talks, a theme it pushes in every international forum.

The Argentinian claim to the islands has support across Latin America, and the United States this week reiterated its neutrality.

At last year's Decolonisation Committee meeting, Argentinian Foreign Minister Hector Timerman made a new call to Britain for "good faith" negotiations on Falklands sovereignty, and Ms Kirchner is likely to make a similar appeal.

The committee itself reiterated its long-standing endorsement of talks.

Britain has refused Argentina's repeated calls to negotiate the islands' sovereignty, saying it is up to the islanders to decide.

The Falkland Islands government announced on Tuesday it plans a referendum next year on the political future of the archipelago.

Gavin Short, chairman of the Falklands' legislature, said he hoped that a referendum would help the Falklanders "convey a strong message to the outside world", about their desire to retain ties to London.

After the 1982 war, the islands became a self-governing British overseas territory, with a directly elected legislative assembly that oversees the local government. Islanders still have British passports and benefit from a sizeable British defence force.

In a speech on the 30th anniversary of Argentina's April 2, 1982 invasion of the islands, Ms Kirchner said her government sets a global standard for protecting human rights and vowed to "respect the interests of the islanders" as her country seeks to peacefully regain control.

"We don't have war drums, nor do we wear military helmets," she said.

Mike Summers, a member of the Falklands' legislature, told reporters that the meeting will mark "the first time that a head of state has ever come, sat on the floor and spoken at the committee".

He said there are no formal arrangements for the Falklands delegation to meet Ms Kirchner.

"It is normal protocol after the event for our delegation to shake hands with the leader of the Argentine delegation, but we don't know whether that will happen," he said.

Mr Summers said he plans to tell the committee it is there to help the people of non-self-governing territories achieve the maximum internal self-government possible, not to judge a dispute between Argentina and Britain.

Fellow politician Roger Edwards said he has three messages: "Self-determination. Self-determination. Self-determination. We have the right to determine our own future."