On the eve of the commemoration of the bicentennial of the first raising of the Argentine flag in the Malvinas Islands, the issuance of the Argentine Postal Service postage stamp “200 years of the first raising of the Argentine flag in the Malvinas Islands” was officially presented in an act that took place in the San Martín Palace of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was attended by Foreign Minister Felipe Solá; the Secretary of the Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic, Daniel Filmus, and the president of the Argentine Postal Service, Vanesa Piesciorovski.
The postage stamp contains an image of the Malvinas Islands captured by the Argentine satellite SAOCOM 1A of the National Commission for Space Activities (CONAE). In the background, a document from the Ministry of War and Navy can be seen in which David Jewett is appointed, by the Supreme Director of the United Provinces, Colonel of the army at the service of the national navy.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs highlighted during the ceremony that “for Argentina, the Malvinas Question and the recovery of the full exercise of sovereignty over the disputed territories is a non-renounceable mandate and a priority of its foreign policy. Our Constitution establishes this, so that no one, inside or outside of our country, can forget it. This unwavering condition has been stated in the inauguration speech of President Alberto Fernández on December 10, 2019, and in his first speech before the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, 2020” and he assured that “we will continue on this path tirelessly until the day when our flag rises again in that dear part of our national territory”.
Solá also appreciated that this year “Law 27,558 has been enacted, which creates the National Council of Affairs Relative to the Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands and the Corresponding Maritime and Insular Spaces, in order to create a plural space at the highest institutional level that designs medium and long-term strategies on the Malvinas Question”. Finally, he underlined: “We want diplomats with a national conscience”.
The Secretary of Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic of the Foreign Ministry, Daniel Filmus, highlighted that “the commemoration of the 200 years of the first raising of our flag in the Malvinas Islands is an opportune occasion to reiterate the vocation for dialogue and demand that the United Kingdom resume negotiations on the issue. It is also an auspicious opportunity to reiterate that we Argentine people, as stated in our National Constitution, will maintain our permanent and inalienable claim to sovereignty with the assurance that, as stated by our President Alberto Fernández in his inauguration speech, there is no place for colonialism in the 21st century”.
The Argentine Postal Service, in coordination with the Secretariat of Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic and the Advisory Council on issues related to the South Atlantic, worked on the preparation of a philatelic issue allusive to this anniversary that includes a postage stamp, a first day of issue postmark and envelope, as well as a flyer with the story of the historical event and with the official position of Argentina on the Malvinas Question. It will be officially issued by the Argentine Postal Service as of November 6, in a limited edition.
On November 6, 1820 David Jewett, commander of the Argentine Navy, raised our flag for the first time in the Malvinas. This act is part of a series of events that reaffirm Argentina's sovereignty over the Islands.
