Argentine students sing Malvinas March in front of UK parliament a week after EU row | World | News
A viral TikTok video has shown the moment a group of students from Argentina took part in a student exchange program in the United Kingdom, gathered in front of the UK Parliament to sing the “Malvinas March”.
The song honors those who died in the Falklands War on the Argentinian side.
With their hands on their chests, the students loudly sang the verses of the song which includes the line: “Malvinas, Argentine!”.
Las Malvinas is the Argentinian name for the British Overseas Territory.
The video went viral on the internet, prompting strong reactions from viewers. The clip ended with a shot of Big Ben.
Among the comments under the post were: “Thank you guys, you are a source of pride. Long live the homeland”, “Spectacular, guys”.
Another person wrote: “I feel so proud, in honor of those young comrades your age who died defending our islands.”
Elsewhere a reporter said: “Going to London and singing the anthem: that’s my goal.”
A release from the EU-Latin America summit last week referred to the South Atlantic islands as “Islas Malvinas / Falkland Islands.” That was hailed as a diplomatic win by Argentina, which has long claimed the islands.
Some in the UK saw it as a snub to Britain, which left the EU in 2020 and was not at the summit to raise its case.
Rishi Sunak criticized the EU for the “difficult choice of words” over the Falkland Islands, after the EU withdrew the use of the name in the EU-CELAC summit declaration, which took place on 17-18 July.
His official spokesman told reporters: “The Prime Minister’s view is that it would be absolutely impossible for the EU to question the right of the Falkland Islanders to decide on their own future.”
“To be clear, the Falkland Islands are British, that was the choice of the islanders themselves.
“The EU has rightly clarified now that its position on the Falklands has not changed following the difficult choice of words.
“And just to remind you, in the 2013 referendum, 99.8 percent of islanders voted to become part of the UK family.
“It is a position supported by international law and the UN Charter that is binding on all UN members.
“And we will continue to defend the Falklands’ right to self-determination in all international forums and we have asked the EU to respect the democratic rights of the Falkland Islands.”
He said: “The concern is any suggestion that EU states would recognize Argentina’s claims to the Falklands, which they have now made clear are false. “
Additional reporting by Maria Ortega.
