BUENOS AIRES, April 2 (UPI) -- Argentina kept the heat up Friday in the controversy over its sovereignty claim on the Falkland Islands as supporters of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner mounted anti-British protests in the capital.
British residents, many of them settled in Argentina for decades, were warned to avoid being in the vicinity of the government-led marches on the 28th anniversary of the start of the war.
Argentina's military junta invaded the islands on April 2, 1982, only to be beaten back by a British task force. Argentina formally surrendered to Britain on June 14 that year although the war was never formally declared.
The conflict cost the lives of more than 900 military personnel and civilians and handed British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher a political victory but triggered the demise of Argentina's military regime and eventual return to democracy.
The mounting of anti-British protests on a day recorded in Argentine history as a tragic blunder by the military has deeply divided supporters of Fernandez, who view her continuing campaign for Argentine sovereignty over the Falklands as part of an effort to deflect attention from deep economic and political problems.
Argentina revived its claim on the islands as the Falklands launched a deep-sea oil exploration program in response to scientific appraisals of huge hydrocarbon deposits in the North Falklands basin.
The findings remain inconclusive and an initial survey report sent shares of oil exploration firms plummeting last month. But Argentina vowed never to give up its claim on the islands, which it calls Las Malvinas.
More urgent than the oil drilling results are economic and political problems confronting Fernandez. The country has been beset by labor disputes, port blockages and a bitter row between the government and the Central Bank over the use of reserves to pay back part of the national debt.
The Falkland Islands government in an anniversary message called on Argentina to give up its claim on the territory.
"Twenty-eight years after the war, the Falkland Islands are a self-governing Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom with the inalienable right to determine our own future," said the message.
"It is appropriate that, on this day, we should re-emphasize our wish to seek peaceful co-operation with our neighbors as full participating members of the South Atlantic community, working with each other to ensure that never again will the tragedy of 1982 be repeated.
"Those who made the supreme sacrifice on both sides would expect nothing less of us," said the message.
The Buenos Aires march has the backing the of the Malvinas Association of Civil Combatants and several trade unions. The organizers said they expected thousands to attend the protests and a march on the British Embassy.
Earlier this week, Fernandez told Argentinians to prepare for a fight to the end to win back the islands.
"The battle is going to be eternal but it is not going to be like in the past, with force," she said.
"We're going to put up a cultural, political and diplomatic fight on all fronts and in all forums in defense of our heritage which is not just heritage but also the management of our resources."
The anti-British sentiment provoked by the rhetoric has introduced deep uncertainty in a society where an estimated 20,000 Britons play an active part in the economy, education and cultural spheres.
