Argentina celebrated the thirty-second anniversary of the Guerra de las Malvinas (Falklands War) on Wednesday with a rally lead by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and the release of a new 50 peso bill picturing the islands.
The commemoration the 74-day conflict between Argentine and British forces took place at the Malvinas Argentinas Hall at the Casa Rosada, with government officials, union leaders and war veterans in attendance, among others. The new banknote pictures a map of the Malvinas Islands in the national colors of Argentina—blue and white.
On April 2, 1982, in the final years of the Argentine military dictatorship, Argentina launched a failed invasion to repossess the islands, resulting in a bloody war where 649 Argentine and 255 British soldiers were killed. Argentina surrendered on June 14 of the same year.
The United Kingdom has maintained control of the territory since then, and a clear majority of island residents supported British rule in a March 2013 referendum vote. Still, disputes have resurfaced in recent years, as Argentina continues to claim the territory as its own, with Fernández de Kirchner saying at the rally “I have endless confidence that we will recover these islands.”
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has attested that the he will not negotiate over the sovereignty of the islands.
