CFK thanks Peru over frigate decision, calls for regional 'joint defence' against militarization of South Atlantic

In a live press conference on Tuesday, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner thanked “the Peruvian government and population” for their decision to leave without effect the scheduled visit of a British frigate “in support of the Argentine sovereignty claim over the Malvinas Islands.” 

“I am very proud of the Peruvian people and their government’s attitude, which honours the history of the struggle against colonialism,” she stated.

“We want a demilitarized South Atlantic,” the Head of State added, as she made a call to all the countries of the region to make efforts to "maintain a joint defence” of the South Atlantic area. 

“We have no problems here, and we don’t want anything to do with war. The world is militarized enough as it is now, with some of the world powers murdering entire civilizations. We want to keep our distance from that,” she assured as the audience applauded.

Minutes before her speech, Fernández de Kirchner held a brief teleconference with Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, who assured her he is “very healthy” and “regaining his weight.” 

“Don’t gain any weight, you look great just the way you are,” she joked.

The President gave her speech from the Tecnópolis science and technology park in Villa Martelli, where she attended a ceremony to give away new digital TV decoders.