'The sinking of the Belgrano cruiser was a cowardly act,' Defence Minister

Defence Minister Arturo Puricelli considered a “cowardly act” the sinking of the General Belgrano cruiser during the Malvinas War as today marks the 30th anniversary of the attack suffered by UK’s Royal Navy submarine Conqueror that killed 323 Argentine crewmen.

The ceremony took place this morning at the gardens of the Defence Ministry

“Today’s event is in the memory of those who lost their lives as a result of the cowardly attack against the General Belgrano cruiser.”

The ship was sunk on May 2, 1982, by two torpedoes fired by HMS Conqueror, a nuclear-powered Royal Navy submarine. Since then, no Argentine vessel left port again during the conflict.

The vessel was hit when sailing out of the British 200-mile exclusion zone around the islands.

The sinking of the Belgrano was seized upon by anti-war foes of UK’s Primer Minister Margaret Thatcher. They accused her of a "war crime", saying she ordered the attack as a deliberate act of provocation designed to escalate the conflict and scupper hopes of a diplomatic resolution.