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Subscribe to RSSAn Argentinian television ad showing an Olympic hopeful training on a British war memorial in the Falklands has been branded a "stunt" by foreign secretary William Hague. ITN reports.
Argentina's Olympic Committee is distancing itself from a television ad that has sparked a dispute with Britain ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.
Britain demanded an apology from Argentina over the controversial 90-second ad, aired on Argentine television last week, showing an athlete training in the Falkland Islands, the British territory in the south Atlantic to which Buenos Aires lays claim.
Set to stirring music, the ad shows Argentine field hockey captain Fernando Zylberberg training for the games by running through the islands' capital of Stanley, passing by British symbols such as a red telephone booth. When Zylberberg reaches the memorial to British sailors who died in the war, he is seen doing step-ups on it.
The ad concludes with the provocative slogan, "To compete on English soil, we train on Argentine soil."
“Desecrating a war memorial, using it as a cheap prop in a very tawdry little advert, I think that just says so much about the way that [Argentine President Cristina] Fernández de Kirchner is conducting her business,” Falklands War veteran Simon Weston told ITN.
The ad was made and released by the Argentine government, led by President Fernández de Kirchner, who is attempting to rally international opinion behind her country's claim to the islands.
London has controlled the islands since 1833. Argentina has long claimed the territory, saying it inherited it from Spain on independence and that Britain expelled an Argentine population from the islands.
UK accuses Argentina of 'harassment', 'threats' over Falkland Islands
Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague told ITN Argentina was misusing the Olympics for political gain.
“I think they are now resorting to one or two stunts, I don’t think they will win any support for that," Hague said. "Any attempt to misuse the Olympic Games for political purposes isn’t going to go down well anywhere in the world.”
The Falkland Islands sports council told ITN it planned to complain about the ad to the International Olympic Committee.
"It’s caused a lot of reaction here because of the athlete doing step-ups on the war memorial, and that pretty disrespectful,” Mike Summers, chair of Falklands Nation Sports Council told ITN.
The IOC later sent a letter to Argentina's national Olympic committee denouncing the ad.
The Argentine national Olympic committee responded in a statement released on Tuesday: "The Argentine National Olympic Committee is fully committed to the Olympic charter and the best practices of the Olympic movement. We strongly believe the Olympic Games are not a platform for politics and we have communicated this position to the International Olympic Committee."
ITN and Reuters contributed to this report.
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What next from Argentina government? The British should learn to except this kind of behavior from the Argentinian government. The Argentinian government must demonize everybody else to make their own failed polices look better.
The Falkland Island should always be a British Territory, for as long as the people leaving there want to be British.
Kinda like Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Southern California should be a part of Mexico as long as the people *living* there want to be Mexican.
Armand,
If they wanted to be Mexican, they'd still be in Mexico.
Armand, yes you are right about Texas Arizona etc. the USA bullied Mexico in giving up land.
Britain Portugal and Spain all claimed ownership of the Falkland Island in 1600's. So how could Spain ever sell the islands to Argentina. Did Spain every legally owned the Islands?
Honestly does having one colony for a one year, in 1832, on the Islands makes the whole set of island Argentina for ever? The reason Britain removed the Argentina colony in 1833, was because Britain never gave up their claim to the Falkland Islands, when the Spanish militarily forced England out in 1770.
So again why should the Falkland Island belong to Argentina?
Armand, here's a chance to learn something. It may not be what you want to hear, but it's the truth.
The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.
When the
Mexican commissioners made advances for peace at the beginning of the year
1848, they were given terms almost as liberal as those offered them before
Scott had stormed and occupied their capital. By the treaty concluded at
Guadalupe-Hidalgo, February 2, 1848, Mexico was required to cede California and
New Mexico to the United States and to recognize the Rio Grande as the southern
and western boundary of Texas. In return, the United States paid Mexico
$15,000,000 cash and assumed some $3,250,000 more in claims of American
citizens on the Mexican government. Considering the facts that California was
scarcely under Mexican control at all and might have been taken at any moment
by Great Britain, France, or Russia; that New Mexico was still the almost
undisturbed home of Indian tribes; that the land from the Nueces to the Rio
Grande was almost a desert; and that the American troops were in possession of
the Mexican capital, the terms offered Mexico were very generous. Polk was
urged by many to annex the whole country of Mexico to the United States, but he
refused to consider such a proposal.
THis article is about the Falklands not about Mexico.PLease get off this page and stop mucking up this article. As for the Argentine government.it´s another example of the self destructive dictatorial nature of this ex guerilla Montanero called Christina Kirshner.A street fighter and not capable of being president.Another disaster for Argentina!!
texas fought for it's independence in 1836....and won.
...thats right texas was it's own republic....until the us annexed it in 1846
It looks like Rocky Balboa!
It is really about oil.
The Falklanks or Islas Malvinas are part of Latin America, the British living there should be sent back to Britain main land if they want to be "British" we dont want British people in Latin American soil, is about oil and Imperialism, raping resources from other lands to support the British way of life. Scotland is separating from the UK, the US economy is weak and the Military Budget of the US is shrinking, time for Latin America to unite and expell the British from the islands, if it come to a war a United Latin America would not be defeated by the UK military and the weak UK economy.
The "latin" people living in Argentine should be sent back to Spain and Argentine (and the Latin American countries) should be given back to the indigenous people (i.e. the native south americans).
Don't you agree?
The UK has the 4th largest military budget in the world, behind the US, Russia and China. If you think Argentina and South America could overpower a 21st century navy and air force with 1970/80s hardware, then you're very much mistaken.
The UK has the 4th largest military budget in the world behind the US, Russia and China. If you think South America, namely Argentina could reclaim the islands with 1970s military hardware against a state of the art navy and air force, you are very much mistaken.
JUST TO "F%%%" with that pillar of crap Argentina, I hope the Brits send Johnny Lydon (Sex Pistols) down there as ACTING GOVENOR
"Falkland, Falkland, uber alles,
Uber alles in der weldt!"
There would be a lot of dead "Argies" again.
las malvinas son argentinas !!!!!!!!
Las gauchas tambien.
Of course it is oil!!! The residents are British! Back off Argentina!!