Argentina demands turnover of Falklands

BUENOS AIRES, April 3 (UPI) -- Argentina marked the anniversary of the 1982 Falklands war with a parade, and the country's president says Britain should turn over the islands.

Argentina invaded the Falklands, claiming they were part of its sovereign territory, but a British counter-invasion defeated the Argentines, who lost 904 lives.

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner delivered a national address on the anniversary Friday from Ushuaia, which was the hub of the Argentine military operations during the 1982 conflict, The Times of London reported. Under Argentine law it is the capital of the region that encompasses the islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas, which lie some 340 miles out to sea.

Kirchner said Britain's claim of "sovereignty from a distance of 14,000 kilometers (about 8,700 miles) is not sustainable, neither historically, nor legally, nor geographically -- but, above all, it is not sustainable logically," The Times reported.

She added: "It's not an exercise of sovereignty but rather colonialism and probably the last such one. The question of the Malvinas is a stain that should be rubbed out."

After she spoke, war veterans held a march in Buenos Aires shouting, "Give us back our islands!" and "Out with the pirates!".

Hundreds of veterans and militant political groups gathered in the Buenos Aires banging drums and carrying sticks, finally converging on the British Embassy. Riot police were deployed to control them, The Times said.