Falklands Issue Headed To UN

(NewsCore) - President Cristina Kirchner on Tuesday said Argentina would take its complaint about alleged UK militarization of the disputed Falkland Islands to the United Nations Security Council.

She also announced the declassification of a 1983 Argentine military report over the war with Britain for the islands, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Kirchner made the announcements in an address to the nation amid rising tensions over the isolated archipelago, with the approach of April's 30th anniversary of Argentina's defeat by the UK in the Falkland Islands War.

The leftist Kirchner lashed out at the UK's recent move to send the sophisticated warship, the HMS Dauntless, to patrol the South Atlantic.

"The South Atlantic is being militarized once more," she said. "It's an anachronism in the 21st century to continue to maintain colonies."

Argentine officials were also angered over the dispatch of Prince William, the second in line to the throne, for a tour of duty as a helicopter pilot, according to AFP.

Kirchner said the Falklands were no longer "the cause of only the people of Argentina, but the cause of all Latin Americans -- and a worldwide cause."

Argentina has obtained the support of neighbors Brazil, Uruguay and Chile, who have all refused to welcome ships flying the Falklands flag in their ports -- a diplomatic offensive that has sparked anger in London.

Hundreds of protesters rallied near the Casa Rosada (Pink House), the government palace where Kirchner was speaking Tuesday, waving Argentine flags and shouting, "Malvinas! They belong to us!" referring to the islands as they are known in Argentina.

The tensions have brought together normally feuding Argentine political sectors, with the opposition largely backing the president's position.

Kirchner has called on the UK to enter into talks on the sovereignty of the islands, but has insisted that Argentina will not go to war for them again, The Journal reported.

The UK has said that discussions on sovereignty are out of the question, and most residents of the islands strongly favor remaining part of the UK.

"The people of the Falkland Islands are British out of choice," the UK Foreign Office said in a statement. "They are free to determine their own future and there will be no negotiations with Argentina on sovereignty unless the islanders wish it."

Both countries will soon mark the anniversary of the 74-day war which cost the lives of 649 Argentine and 255 British troops.