Argentina recalls its fateful invasion

Islanders show little sign of wanting to change flag

Argentina will mark the 20th anniversary of the start of its war with Britain for the Falkland Islands on Tuesday.

President Eduardo Duhalde is due to attend a ceremony in the southern city of Ushuaia to honour the war dead.

They are our lands, each one of their stones, each one of their sites, is totally Argentine

President Eduardo Duhalde

Only this weekend, he predicted that control over the islands, which Argentina knows as the Malvinas, would inevitably pass to his country's control.

But on the islands themselves the mood is firmly pro-British with the governor making clear that sovereignty is not up for negotiation.

Duhalde: Young Argentines have other preoccupations now

In a speech to the nation carried by Argentine radio, President Duhalde said: "Some day we are going to recover the Malvinas."

"The violent route was not the appropriate one," he stressed, saying that the key to success lay in making Argentina a strong, progressive state with a presence in the world community.

Self-determination

Mr Duhalde admitted that the fate of the islands was not uppermost in the minds of the younger generation but said that international recognition of Argentina's territorial right became "more convincing every day".

It will take time for people to be relaxed about Argentina

Donald Lamont
Governor of the Falklands

The Governor of the Falklands, Donald Lamont, said that Britain firmly backed the islanders' right to self-determination and made this clear to Argentina.

There is no official commemoration on the islands of the anniversary of Argentina's invasion, which sparked off a 10-week war that led to a total death toll of 900.

"It will take time for people to be relaxed about Argentina," said Mr Lamont.

"The breach of trust was pretty definitive. It's ingrained."

Sporting event

The two countries' polo teams marked the anniversary with the first match between them for more than 35 years.

England won the match by the narrow margin of 13 and a half goals to 13.

A minute's silence was observed before the match began at the Palermo Polo Club in Buenos Aires, owned by the Argentine military.