And the former journalist who has visited the remote archipelago in the South Atlantic 15 times, also stressed links between Alicia Castro, an advisor to frontrunner Alberto Fernandez – who last week said he wanted to “renew the claim of sovereignty” to the Falklands – and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. The Falklands are a British-governed group of islands located 300 wiles from the tip of Patagonia in the far south of Argentina.
Argentina, which refers to the Falklands as the Malvinas, has always disputed Britain’s claim, and invaded in 1982, prompting then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to dispatch a Royal Navy task force to reclaim them, which it did.
Speaking to the Express.co.uk using the pseudonym Simon Arthur over fear of repercussions, the former journalsit said he was not surprised by Mr Fernandez’s decision to politicise the issue, which he said was a standard tactic of the populist Justicialist Party which he represents, which was founded by Juan and Evita Peron in 1947.
He said: “They always use the Falklands as an election weapon but it’s the worst I’ve known.”
Mr Fernandez’s opponent, the incumbent President Mauricio Macri, had done his best to avoid the issue, and had adopted a more “sensible” attitude towards the Falklands during his tenure, Mr Arthur said.
However, the same could not be said of Mr Fernandez, who last week said: “All these years the Macri government was very much occupied in trade with the UK and with Malvinas and forgot about sovereignty.
“To the memory of our soldiers I’m going to make sure that things are different.
“I demand that again we reinforce our commitment with the Malvinas Islands sovereignty.”
Mr Arthur said there was a feeling that Mr Fernandez could attempt to
renounce a joint statement signed by then-Foreign and Commonwealth Minister Alan Duncan and Argentina’s deputy foreign minister Carlos Foradori, agreeing to work towards removing restrictive measures around the oil and gas industry, shipping and fishing affecting the Falkland Islands in the coming months.
He also drew attention to the close ties between Mr Corbyn and Ms Castro, Argentina’s former ambassador to the UK, who has close links with both Mr Fernandez and his vice-Presidential candidate Cristina Elisabet Fernandez de Kirchner, herself a former President of the country.
Mr Arthur, who believes Mr Corbyn “cannot be trusted with the Falkland Islands”, produced as evidence a photograph showing Mr Corbyn with Daniel Filmus, then-Secretary for the Malvinas in the Argentinian Government, and Guillermo Carmona, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies.
The picture was taken during Mr Corbyn’s visit to Argentina in 2013, where he attended a Pro-Dialogue Conference focused on the issue of the Falklands’ sovereigty – a trip Mr Arthur said was organised by Ms Castro, whom Mr Corbyn has been friends for many years.
Speaking last week, Falkland Islanders voiced their concerns about the prospect of Mr Fernandez being elected tomorrow.
Shirley Hirtle, 76, who works in the historic museum of Puerto Stanley, said: “They do everything possible to disrupt our economy by imposing all kinds of sanctions on various items and being generally unfriendly.”
Keith Heathman, 76, driver and tour guide for Battlefield Tours, was also alarmed at Argentinian plans to cut flights between the Falklands and South America from one a week to two.
He said: “It wouldn’t surprise me at all if there was a problem with the second flight.”
The Falklands, population 3,398 as of 2016, have been in British hands since 1833.
The war lasted 10 weeks, claiming the lives of 649 Argentinians, and 255 British servicemen.