Argentine protestors demanding the return of the Falkland Islands are planning to disrupt Prince Harry’s visit to Brazil later this week, the leader of the Argentine community in the country warned Monday.
Oswaldo Sicardi, the president of Clube Argentino in Rio de Janeiro said the prince’s three day visit to the country was ‘in extremely bad taste’ just weeks before the 30th anniversary of the start of the Falklands War.
He called on Argentinians living in the city to ‘show their anger’ over the islands they call Las Malvinas by picketing the high profile visit.
Prince Harry, 27, will arrive in Rio on Friday on a two-day diplomatic offensive designed to improve Britain’s links with Latin American countries.
He is currently in the Central American state of Belize, as part of a Diamond Jubilee Tour of the Caribbean and Brazil.
His first public appearance will be at an event on Rio’s world-famous Sugarloaf Mountain, billed as an opportunity to showcase all that is great about Britain.
Mr Sicardi said: ‘I consider the arrival of Prince Harry, straight after the military exercises in the Malvinas an extremely unfortunate decision and one taken in extremely bad taste’.
‘Harry can come to Brazil any time he likes if the motive is to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee, raise the profile of his charity or to further business links’.
‘But he is clearly coming with an ulterior motive, to try to change Brazil’s position in relation to the Malvinas’.
‘I consider it yet another act of provocation by Britain, along with deploying Prince William, sending nuclear submarines and its most powerful warship. Argentinians would be right to show their anger and bring this to the world’s attention’.
Tensions between the two countries have heightened with the approaching 30th anniversary of the 1982 Falklands conflict, which cost the lives of 255 British and 649 Argentine servicemen.
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and David Cameron have engaged in a diplomatic war of words over the sovereignty of the islands.