Of the 2,000 invitations that have been sent out, Cristina Kirchner has been left off the list due to the soreness over the Falklands war, and objections from Thatcher's family
Britain will not invite Argentine President Cristina Fernandez to Margaret Thatcher’s funeral next week in a snub likely to deepen a long-running diplomatic dispute over the Falkland Islands.
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Thatcher (87), who died on Monday, led Britain at the time of the 1982 Falklands war ordering her armed forces to repel an Argentine invasion of the contested South Atlantic archipelago which Argentina calls Las Malvinas.
Floral tributes: A card is left with flowers outside the home of former British PM Margaret Thatcher in central London. The funeral to be held on April 17 will see many big celebrities as wells as world leaders. Pic/AFP
Just over 30 years later, memories of the conflict remain raw and Fernandez has mounted a campaign to renegotiate the islands’ sovereignty, lobbying Pope Francis on the issue and rejecting a referendum last month in which Falkland residents voted to remain a British Overseas Territory.
A government source said that every country with whom Britain enjoys ‘normal’ diplomatic relations was being invited to Wednesday’s funeral, but Thatcher’s family had objected to Fernandez attending.
“It’s about adhering to her family’s wishes,” the source said.
A government spokesman said Argentina’s ambassador to Britain would be invited, and that was in keeping with protocol.
Thatcher’s children Mark and Carol said they felt it would be ‘inappropriate’ for anyone from Argentina to be there after government officials floated the idea.
Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman brushed off the apparent snub. “It does not matter to me to be invited to a place where I don’t want to go,” he said. “It is another provocation. The woman died, let the family mourn her in peace.”
Britain Prime Minister David Cameron’s office made it clear on Thursday that invitations will be sent far and wide.“Around 200 states, territories and international organisations are being invited to send an official representative to the funeral service,” a spokesman said.
“We have invited those countries and institutions with whom we have normal diplomatic relations.”
Who’s invited
>> Former South African president FW De Klerk, European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso and ex-Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad
>>u00a0Celebrities including singing diva Shirley Bassey and Jeremy Clarkson
>>u00a0A representative of the family of Nelson Mandela
>>u00a0Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and former presidents George HW Bush, Bill Clinton and George W Bushu00a0
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