Argentina Commemorates 35th Anniversary of Malvinas War

Argentina paid tribute to the soldiers who died in the Malvinas War when Argentine forces landed on the islands that kicked off the war against the United Kingdom 35 years ago.

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The 1982 war claimed the lives of 649 Argentine combatants and 255 British troops before Argentina finally surrendered in the face of an imposing armada dispatched from the U.K. by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Argentine social media users spread the hashtags #MalvinasArgentinas and #Malvinas35años, while people gathered in the main Plaza de Mayo, where war veterans set up a camp nine years ago to demand a recognition of their efforts.

During the ceremony, President Mauricio Macri said that Argentina's claims over the Malvinas Islands were "irrevocable."

U.K. occupied the island chain in 1833 and renamed them the Falklands. Argentine forces seized them back in 1982 to reclaim sovereignty, but the U.K. prevailed in a 74-day war that claimed hundreds of lives on both sides.

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Former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez repeatedly urged London to negotiate the sovereignty of the islands.

But Macri, in power since late 2015, said he wanted to improve relations with the U.K., a step seen as aiming to boost Argentina's flagging economy and play up to Western powers. But the pact he garnered did not touch on the delicate question of the islands' sovereignty — a decision harshly criticized by the political opposition.

The U.K. maintains that it will only agree to talks if the 3,000 islanders want them. In a 2013 referendum, the island's inhabitants voted overwhelmingly in favor of remaining under British rule. Argentina dismissed the results.