[Updated at 7:15 p.m. ET] Amid escalating tensions over the Falkland Islands, Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner accused Great Britain of militarizing the South Atlantic and said Tuesday her country would file a protest at the United Nations.
Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner
"We're going to file a protest," Fernandez added.
[Initial post, 12:14 p.m. ET] Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has announced plans for what local media are calling a major announcement Tuesday amid escalating tensions between Argentina and Great Britain over the Falkland Islands.
Kirchner is gathering ruling and opposition party politicians, diplomats and veterans from the 1982 war between Britain and Argentina over the South Atlantic islands, which Argentina calls Las Malvinas, the English-language Buenos Aires Herald reported. Her announcement is scheduled for 7 p.m. local time (5 p.m. ET).
Speculation in recent days has been that Kirchner will cut the Falklands air link to the South American mainland by banning the airline LAN Chile from using Argentinian airspace to fly to the islands from Chile. The Saturday flights are the only scheduled air service to the Falklands and carry fresh food as well as passengers, Britain's Sky News reports.
Argentina already bans Falklands ships from its ports, an action joined by other South American and Caribbean nations.
"If the LAN Chile flight is cancelled, it would be pretty difficult to resist the already credible thesis that there is an economic blockade of the civilian population of the Falklands," a senior British diplomat in the region was quoted as saying by the UK's Guardian newspaper last week.
Though Britain won the 1982 war, expelling an Argentinian military force, Argentina still claims the territory, which has been under British rule since 1833, as its own. Britain maintains that the 2,500 residents of the Falklands have the right to determine their allegiance, and so far that has been staunchly British.
"We support the Falklands' right to self-determination, and what the Argentinians have been saying recently I would argue is actually far more like colonialism, because these people want to remain British, and the Argentinians want them to do something else," British Prime Minister David Cameron told UK lawmakers last month.
Tensions between London and Buenos Aires were raised even higher this month when Britain sent the second in line to the throne, Prince William, to the Falklands as a military helicopter pilot.
"Prince William is coming ... as a member of the armed forces of his country," Argentina's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "The Argentinian people regret that the royal heir is coming to the soil of the homeland with the uniform of the conqueror and not with the wisdom of a statesman who works in the service of peace and dialogue between nations."
The prince's deployment comes as Britain is making other moves to support its 1,700 personnel at the Mount Pleasant military complex in the Falklands.
Britain is sending the sophisticated destroyer HMS Dauntless to the Falkland Islands.
The Royal Navy is sending its top-of-the-line warship, the destroyer HMS Dauntless, to the South Atlantic in the spring on what the British Defense Ministry calls a routine deployment, according to British media reports, including the BBC. Additionally, a British nuclear submarine is also headed to the Falklands, according to a report in the UK's Daily Mail.
So why, besides supporting the Falklands' inhabitants, does Britain want to hang on to the islands? There are lucrative fishing grounds around the islands as well as a growing oil drilling industry.
Argentina, of course, has economic interests, but analysts say the current standoff has much to do with internal politics.
"The government is being squeezed from lots of different areas, so one way to distract from the economic problems facing the country is to raise the Malvinas issue," Mark Jones, an expert in Latin American politics at Rice University in Texas, told CNN. "It's one of the few issues outside football that you can get universal consensus on."
And in Argentina, football, or soccer, is helping fuel the tensions.
When the season kicks off Friday in the top flight of Argentinian soccer, the league will be named Crucero General Belgrano (the cruiser General Belgrano) after the Argentinian warship sunk by a British submarine during the conflict 30 years ago. Argentina lost 323 sailors in the sinking, almost half of its total casualties during the war. Britain puts its casualties in the 74-day 1982 war at 255 troops and civilians.
In a report Tuesday on MercoPress.com, the South Atlantic News Agency said that Argentina's top soccer league is run by the government, which also owns its TV rights. All games are broadcast free, and advertising is often used to promote government programs, according to the report.
If the Argentinian government is pushing its Falklands claims on domestic TV, it's using a different media to put out a message in the Falklands themselves, according to Time.com. Islanders report receiving harassing phone calls, e-mails and even tweets, Time reports.
"It's intimidating to be woken in the night to someone shouting at you in Spanish," Lisa Watson, editor of the islands' newspaper The Penguin News, told Time.
Read and watch more CNN coverage of the Falklands:
[cnn-video url="http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2012/02/01/qmb-intv-rising-falklands-tension.cnn"%5DQuestions and answers on the Falklands tensions
The Falklands in photos high-res gallery
Venezuela, Bolivia leaders call for sanctions against Great Britain
[cnn-video url="http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2012/02/01/pkg-foster-falklands-prince-william-duty.cnn"%5D
Agentina is playing muscle flex to draw attention away from their economic problems. Their banking system is so bad and corrupt that Agentintians put their money in the "Very" secure banks in Uruguay. Argentina closed the bridge across the Uruguay river at Fray Bentos, UY because UY got the pulp mill Argentina lost the bid on getting. Pretty childish isn't it? Argentina is bullying the Uruguay constantly. If someone in Uruguay get publicity the next day in Argentina news reports they say that person was born in Argentina...another childish fit! Maybe Argentina should try taking the island back again and get their butt kicked again.
What economic problems are you talking about? Argentina has record employment, record growth, one of the soundest industries in southamerica, record harvests with record prices for grain and other commodities. I think is the other way around, Britain is in economic trouble this time, as it was in the 1980s. Please inform yourself before writting.
the only reson England won the war was because the US spy Satellite gave the britts the information to locate there warships. Upto that point Argentina was sinking everyhting British.. I believe they sank 5 British warship and on the land battle Britian was getting there Butts handed to them Them was theThere was dissention between the Argentinian Armed forces The Navy wasent supporting the Army on the ground and they lost the battle goose green.. The Argentines did it with older equipment..... The Malvinas belongs to the Argentinians .. Remember the Monroe doctrine you bunch of hippocrites!!! see that the problem with America......
What if I get a piece of land on Northern England, bring some of my friends that are allowed to live in England like me, and vote that piece of land out of the commonwealth? Well that is the british logic of letting the kelpers to decide.
@geno00007
That was one of many factors including superior training on the part of the British. They shared the same r!fle with one distinct difference. The British r!fle had limited fire, where as the Argentineans had full auto and regularly used it. They couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.
@Damian. Argentina is almost bankrupt. All statistics, employment, GDP growth, inflation, are completely false. The government is lying to everybody and is printing money at high speed.
Argentina has a history of claiming territory which does not belong to her. Uruguay has been (unfortunately due to its size, physically and economically) the biggest victim when Argentina decided to claim Martin Garcia Island (within Uruguay's nautical territory) as theirs, and in exchange gave Uruguay Juncal Island (which is even closer to Uruguay).
Unfortunately Uruguay has always ended up doing what Argentina wants because of size in everyway. Although the previous Uruguayan president (Vazquez) was in contact with Washington for back up on the resolution (by international court) of a bridge blocked by Argentina escalating tensions.
This would be the same as another country taking possesion of Long Island, N.Y. from the U.S.A, and giving in return Manhattan Island to the U.S.A.
ARGENTINA IS AN ARROGANT AND RACIST COUNTRY, EVEN IF THEY ARE DYING OF STARVATION, THEY STILL WOULD PRETEND AS IF THE WORLD OWES THEM SOMETHING.
Falklands belongs to Argentina. Britain has no legitimate claim. Colonialism is dead, let's keep it that way.
WRONG! The Falklands very clearly belong to England, period. No argument, no debate. They won, end of story.
Where do you draw the line? 1833? Why not earlier? When are you going back to where your ancestors came from?
TrueAmerican explain me why the UN didnt recognize their self determination if you are so sure about your position?
Screw the corrupt U.N. They have no real authority and I will never listen to what they say.
What are you talking about? Open a history book. Argentina has no claim to the Faulkland Islands.
well then all arintinians should move back to spain...d0uche
Bombo argentina was a mix between spanish and natives...you are confusing the later inmigration with the argentine independence...
Britain established control in 1833.
Argentina wasn't founded until 1853.
What right does Argentina have?
TruAmerican the UN didnt recognize and still dont recognize the "falklands" since their creation...and sorry but without the UN approval the Falklands doesnt exist
thatrix argentina is independent since 1816
What natives???? The Spanish wiped them out. Most people in Argentina are Italian mix.
Lila you are mixing the european inmigration in the middle of the XX century
Explains it all, greasy woops!
Lila, I would like you to say the same thing once Scotland secedes from the British rule in the referendum that will be held in a coupe of years.
Here let me help you out, Italy didn't exist before the late 1800s. Most of it was part of the Spanish empire. Argentina was also part of the Spanish Empire. The people who immigrated came from what is now Italy. please learn about your own culture.
how the hell do you know that the "spanish colonies from argentina" came from the italian spanish empire? and you say you want to help? you are inventing it...
Good lord, what a mess. Open. A. Book. If not, at least go to Wiki. Better yet travel to Argentina. I was there 2 months ago.
you were in argentina? so what? being in a place you acquire all about their history? to know the history you need to study from books, i think you skipped that part...
Both, read about the country and traveled there. Sounds like you've done neither. Either you are extremely stupid or just a troll.
Yes colonialism is dead. Colonialists are in that case Argentinians who want to cleanse the area ethnically and settle there their own COLONISTS.
I agree were is the monroe DOctrine You Bunch Hippocrites why are we so attached to the damn Britts... They dont belong in this hemoishphere sounds like the Sudentland to me! all over again
@geno00007
Because the British have the legal claim.
>damn Britts... They don’t belong in this hemisphere”(correct spelling)
Then nether would the Argentineans genus.
@sean – If you are going to correct someone on their spelling, next time make sure you spell GENIUS correctly.
This lady is an idiot, period. The Falklands do no t belong to Argentina, end of story. All she is going to do is get some of her people killed.
As I said in a previous post about this topic: isn't it interesting this happening in 2012, EXACTLY thirty years after 1982...
give it up UK its not yours to keep and only the fool-hearty built a home there and planted a flag.
Thats exactly what the Argentine government are looking to do,..... that is after they harass and bully a small island population. Lets use a different analogy: Mr Argentina sounds like some bitter stalker, who insists that the subject of his stalking and harassment (Miss Falkland a neighbor who lives down the street from him, but is in a relationship with Mr UK who lives across town) should marry him. Mr Argentina's logic is that Miss Falkland dated him briefly when they were teenagers and she lives closer to him than Mr UK. So back in the 80's Mr Argentina broke into her home, thrashed the place (leaving landmines everywhere) and demanded Miss Falkland marry him. Mr UK came over and beat him up and threw him out (Miss Falkland phoned him for help). Now years later, Mr Argentina is getting even more pushy, he is stalking her, getting his other neighbors to gang up on her, tampering with her mail, pushing dog waste through the letterbox, following her around, cutting her hedge etc.
Argentineans should team up with the Brazilians and beat the crap out of those Brit suckers!
No. That still wouldn't be enough.
BOMBO if you are so sure then whats the problem?
Bombo is correct it would take more than Argentina and Brazil has to stop the British Navy. This is posturing plain and simple from the Argentine government.
the UK has no longer an aircraft...dont be such a fool...
Agree, because you a supper power does not mean you can win every war. Teaming up would be a good move, specially if the chileans get on board, they have a good navy and the britons would not be able to use their land for logistics likke the last time.
Your only problem is that that's when the big bad wolf comes in, the US baby, and its game over
Bring it on, bro. How about the Argies and Brazil together in a tag team match against the UK and the US? 🙂
I was in Port Stanley for the last one - your military had some serious issues then and the hyperinflation and unemployment that the Argie government is hiding cannot be contributing to its getting any better.
I for one will support and fight for the right of the BRITISH Kelpers to keep their land.
Argentina looks so stupid. Great plan to mess with Chile, their border reaches to the Atlantic and they can fly right over. It'll take longer but it can be done vs Argentinians trying to drive to the southern tip to Tierra del Fuego. They have to drive through Chile to reach Argentina again. Chile can deny access for businesses both on land and sea.
chile doesn't reaches to the atlantic, my god take a map
Try looking at a map, specifically Tierra del Fuego halfwit.
Lila look at the dots in the map that shows the division between both countries...chile doenst reaches to the atlantic and argentina doesnt reaches to the pacific...
Uh, maybe YOU should look at a map before responding. The southern tip of Chile arcs eastward towards the Atlantic – in fact, towards the Falklands – therefore Chile DOES have Atlantic coastline. You are presumably on a computer now, go to google maps, search Tierra del Fuego, zoom in, and keep your eyes on the Chile- Aregentina border.
See on the little map where it says the straight of Magellan? Where does it open to? hope that helps.
Sorry Lila, my response is redundant. I was making certain about my facts before responding, and it took a couple of minutes. Maybe Argentine schools are using different maps than the rest of the world uses.
No, they use the same maps. Argentinians are aware they have to go through Chile to get to Tierra del Fuego.
Lila once they cross the Strait of Magellan and Argentina is not Chile...
yep thats true to go to tierra del fuego you got to cross to chile but from their side...they have no territory in the atlantic ocean...in a political map you can see the division...there is a line you know
Good lord, you are wrong. They have access to the Atlantic. They can fly over and access the Falklands that way. They also control the tip and can go that route. Argentina looks petty and stupid in all this.
Q. How can you tell that someone knows they are losing an arguement?
A. They call the other person a moron, rather than try to come up with an intelligent point.
oh Lila, if argentina ban the flights on their space territory then they can not go from chile...unless the plane goes to antrtica and then to the islands
yes, their airspace. what is your point? Argentina doesn't own the Atlantic.
Lila did you know that every country has 200 miles from their coast right? how do you expect to croos from chile to the atlantic ocean without entering in the 200 miles from argentina?
By your own info, Chile also has 200 miles, think about it.
exactly but chile has 200 miles from their side not from the atlantic side...thats why i told you to take a political map
Nice to see my comment removed. :/ truth hurts. Anyway for the troll, both countries signed a treaty, the straight is technically neutral which would include airspace. In addition, the entire tip also belongs to Chile. They can get to the Falklands regardless.
Lila vs Matias: I'm putting my $$$ on Lila.
Maybe Argentina should give Argentina back to the indians than......Argentinas a joke
What is Argentina going to do? Give the British the worst frowning of a life time?
England most likely put their prisoners on the Falklands to colonize just like they did Australia.
de "kirschner" as in "don kirschners rock concert" ?
If I had to choose between being a citizen of Argentina or the UK, I would choose the UK. Argentina had better watch their bellicose behavior because they/ may end up being part of the UK along with the Falklands.
bellicose behavior ? poor ignorant people...
you don't see germany whining about alsace any more do you
British since 1833. Argentina clearly has no claim. Else, how far back do we go on land claims? 50 years? 100? 200? 1000?
Argentina was independent since 1816 and the UK invade the islands in 1833, are you really asking that?
So, dig up the Argentine corpses from 1833 to do battle against the British residents.
are you really suggesting that? LOL
Did not learn from the last time we was there huh? Time to go back and kick some more ass.