Letter From Argentina: Crossing the land borders between Argentina and its South American neighbours, large billboards alert all incomers to the continued Argentinian claim to a small group of controversial islands off the coast of this troubled country, writes Fiona McCann
Any map of Argentina produced in the country will confirm this - the islands, known in Argentina as Las Malvinas, are still officially considered a part of Argentina, despite the British flag that flies there.
Although they lost the war in 1982, for many Argentinians the issue of the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands has not been put to rest. This is what British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair was reminded of this week at the meeting of world leaders in London. Newly-elected Argentinian President Mr Nestor Kirchner used the opportunity of his first meeting with his British counterpart to introduce a topic close to his own heart, and one which forms a central tenet of his presidency.
In doing so, he became the only Argentinian president to use the word "sovereignty" on British soil in connection with the Falkland Islands, something the Argentinian media was quick to jump on. At an informal chat on Sunday afternoon, Mr Blair and Mr Kirchner talked for 25 minutes, with Mr Kirchner immediately introducing the topic, which is of particular interest to him, having been born in the Patagonian province geographically closest to the Falkland Islands.
Argentinian newspapers reported at length on the conversation at Penny Hill, where Mr Kirchner reportedly informed Mr Blair that he had lived very close to what he termed the madness of Gen Galtieri, the late dictator who launched the invasion of the islands in 1982.
The burst of national pride that greeted the invasion was quickly quashed by the appalling alacrity with which the invading forces, mostly untrained teenagers, were vanquished by British troops. Within 74 days, the war was lost and Argentinians were left licking their wounds and nursing their wounded pride. Argentina has been humbled again recently with an economic collapse that has left more than 50 per cent of its population below the poverty line. With the days of shaky presidencies and daily riots receding, Argentinians are looking to their new president to restore some Argentinian pride.
At stake in the Falkland Islands is something more than national pride, however. According to reports in the national newspapers here, the 2,500 inhabitants of the islands make $36 million a year from the sale of licenses to fish in their surrounding waters. This news comes at a time when the wage of the average Argentinian has fallen to less than $200 a month. Mr Kirchner's reiteration of Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands has been reported as a positive step by the current government. But at a time of economic instability, some are questioning the priorities of a new president who has yet to prove himself to a public of whom only 22 per cent voted for him in the first round of elections.
The reported response by Mr Blair to Mr Kirchner's comments on the Falkland Islands was a little less promising than the latter may have hoped. While Mr Kirchner hailed the reopening of a dialogue over the disputed islands, Mr Blair's response to his Argentinian counterpart was a terse "I understand".
What is an issue of monumental significance to Argentina has clearly failed to ignite the imagination of the British, or that of their leader, to quite the same extent. The British media has been united in silence on the matter, despite the furore it has generated in Argentina. But in a country where the past consistently informs the present another headline from this week's La Nacion newspaper screams for attention.
Argentina should leave its past behind, according to a front page headline which refers to Mr Kirchner's attempts to address the wrongs committed under the military dictatorship under which he was himself imprisoned.
At a time when the country is crying for political reform, when children in the poorer provinces are dying of malnutrition, the new president should choose his battles wisely.
The Falklands may be Argentinian, depending on who you believe, but the future will never be unless other issues are first addressed.