‘Leftist campaign against BRITAIN’ Anger as Red Cross uses Malvinas in Falklands tweet

The organisation used the contentious name in a report on a recent visit to war graves on the islands which were at the centre of a bloody conflict between Britain an Argentina in 1982. It

posted a short video report of the video on social media and tweeted: “Last week @ICRC accompanied families of fallen Argentine soldiers on a visit to the Falklands/Malvinas. After nearly 37

years, the remains of their loved ones have been identified.”

But the comment was seized upon by Social Democratic Party Euro MP Patrick O’Flynn who described it as part of a "Leftist campaign against Britishness".

He tweeted: “Poor show from British branch of the Red Cross to start calling the Falklands the Malvinas.

In its response, the group said: “The International Committee of the Red Cross is a strictly neutral and impartial organisation with a purely humanitarian mandate."

It continued: “Across the world, whenever a disputed territory is given different names by the parties concerned, the ICRC uses those names together, in French alphabetical order.

“Designations are not an expression of opinion concerning the legal status of any territory.

“Our wording in relation to this forensic identification project has been consistent and has been shared many times with everyone concerned.

“We implemented this project at the request of the governments of the United Kingdom and Argentina. We are pleased that 112 of the 122 previously unidentified soldiers buried at Darwin

cemetery have now been identified.”

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The Falklands War began in April 1982 when Argentina invaded and occupied the British-held Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.

Margaret Thatcher dispatched a naval task force to engage the Argentine navy and air force before making an amphibious assault on the islands.

The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with the Argentine surrender on June 14, 1982, returning the islands to British control.

In total, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel and three Falkland Islanders died during the hostilities.

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