Argentina-UK: Molotov cocktails instead of dialogue
Baku, April 3 (AZERTAC). On April 2, 30 years since the war between Britain and Argentina over the Falklands (Malvinas Islands), protesters in Buenos Aires threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the British Embassy.
A march commemorating the victims of the 1982 conflict grew into clashes with police when leftists from the Quebracho party began to throw rocks at the Embassy guards. The protesters burnt an effigy clad in a British military uniform and attempted to break through the cordon. Police responded with tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets.
As for the UK, it had a quiet commemoration at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. Prime Minister David Cameron addressed the ceremony and reconfirmed Britain`s commitment by all means to uphold “the right of the Falkland Islanders alone to determine their own future”. Recently, he stated the same in tParliament marking 30 years since the beginning of the war
Cameron`s speech means that the UK has no intentions to give the Falklands to Argentina or discuss the issue of their sovereignty. Meanwhile, Buenos Aires is ready for a dialogue with London. On April 2, Argentina`s President Cristina Kirchner made a speech in the city of Ushuaia commemorating the 1982 war veterans. She urged the UK to launch a dialogue on the disputed territory. Britain`s response was sending the destroyer HMS Dauntless to patrol the South Atlantic.
This is happening despite calls by the UN Chief Ban Ki-Moon and Nobel Peace Prize winners, including Desmond Tutu, to avoid escalation of tension and resolve the conflict via dialogue.
Russia also wants the parties to settle things in line with a UN mandate.
This nearly happened in 1974. According to recently declassified British data, the then-Labour government headed by Harold Wilson offered Argentina`s President Juan Domingo Peron to share the Falklands. The latter accepted the proposal but died shortly after. Today, the countries could try again.
The current conflict seems to be linked to natural resources discovered on the archipelago`s shelf. Experts believe that the 1982 war was caused by oil and gas found in the region. This is despite the fact that the South Atlantic is rich of other minerals, like manganese and cobalt ore.
The Islands are also strategically important as they give access to the carbohydrate trove of Antarctica. Thus, the UK is improbable to drop its claims or cede to Argentina.
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