On April 2, Argentina marked the 25th anniversary of the start of the war for the Malvinas (also known as the Falkland) Islands, a British overseas territory. The date gave Argentines a reason to once again assert territorial claims. Argentine President Nestor Kirchner sent an official appeal to the UN calling for help in restoring historical justice.
The virtually uninhabited archipelago (population just over 3,000 people, popularly called "Sheep Island") became the subject of a dispute back in the 19th century. In 1833, Great Britain claimed its rights to the Falklands, arguing that British sailors were the first to land on the islands. Argentina, in turn, claimed that the lands were discovered by the Spanish, who passed them on to the Argentines by inheritance. In 1982, the conflict, which had remained frozen for about a century and a half, reached its peak. On April 2, Argentine troops landed on the Falkland Islands. The armed phase of the conflict (formally London and Buenos Aires did not declare war on each other, considering the fighting to be the restoration of control over their own territory) ended after 74 days with a British victory. The war claimed the lives of 258 British and 649 Argentine citizens.
In 1990, relations between the two countries were normalized, but the issue of the islands' status remained unresolved.