Falklands row: Sun takes out advert in Argentinian newspaper

The Sun has taken out an advertisement in an Argentinian newspaper reasserting British sovereignty over the Falklands, after Argentina's president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, published an advert in the UK press accusing Britain of colonialism.

The Sun advert, published in the English-language Buenos Aires Herald, which has a circulation of more than 20,000, tells the Argentinians to keep their "hands off" the islands, which the two countries fought a war over 30 years ago.

It came after Fernández marked the 180-year anniversary of the Falklands being "forcibly stripped" from her country with a caustic open letter to David Cameron, also published as an advert in the Guardian and Independent, demanding that they be returned to Argentina.

The advert in the Herald, addressed personally to Fernández, says: "Claims that 180 years ago Argentina was 'stripped' of the Falkland Islands are unfounded. No Argentinian civilian population was ever expelled. It was an Argentine garrison which had been sent to the islands to try to impose Argentine sovereignty over British sovereign territory … until the people of the Falkland Islands choose to become Argentinian, they remain resolutely British."

The Sun's riposte comes after a strong response from the UK and Falklands governments to Fernández's demand. Cameron said the islanders had his "100% backing" to stay British, while the Foreign Office said there could be "no negotiations on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands unless and until such time as the islanders so wish". A response from legislative assembly member Dick Sawle, published on the Falklands government website, said Fernández's letter was "disappointing" and "historically inaccurate", and dismissed her description of the islands as a British colony.

The islanders are due to vote in a referendum in March that is expected to give overwhelming backing for the territory to remain British. Critics suggest Fernández's campaign to assert Argentina's sovereignty claim is an attempt to shore up domestic support ahead of mid-term legislative elections in October.