ID :
124044
Tue, 05/25/2010 - 10:45
Auther :

ARGENTINA CELEBRATES 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE TUESDAY





KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 (Bernama) -- Argentina, which celebrates its 200th
birthday tomorrow, is inviting the peoples of the world to join in the
celebration and share the best of its people, culture and history.

Its Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship Minister, Jorge Taiana,
in a message released by the Argentine embassy to Bernama here Monday, said the
country regarded the commemoration of the bicentenary as a process in which
celebration goes hand-in-hand with reflection.

"The purpose of these lines is to include all peoples of the world in our
celebration, presenting some highlights of our reality in order to look at
Argentina today on the domestic and global front and to convey our priorities
and objectives," he said.

He recalled how on May 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, the then capital of the
Viceroyalty of the River Plate, the patriots decided to disregard the Spanish
colonial authorities and establish the first autonomous government council.

"This challenge to the colonial order was the first step to set in motion
the process that would lead to the declaration of independence, and its final
victory came when the Spanish troops suffered a military defeat, after 10 years
of combat, in battlefields around half the American continent," he said.

Saying that today the country were paying tribute to those patriots and
heroes who founded the nation, Taiana said the democratic political system
which had prevailed for nearly three decades was a reality and had given proof
of maturity.

"We, the Argentine people, are the result of a meeting of highly diverse
cultures. The coexistence and integration of immigrants from all over the world
has been a particular feature of our history which we continue to embrace," he
said.

Taiana said Argentina advocated full respect for international law,
stressing that multilateralism was the most effective instrument to promote
peace and security and to win the fight against poverty and exclusion, disease,
drug trafficking and environmental degradation.

"Our appeal to the British government, formally supported by the United
Nations, to discuss sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, reflects the spirit
of the Argentine people and is one of the pillars of our foreign policy," he
said.
-- BERNAMA


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