Argentina leader slams British PM on Falklands

BUENOS AIRES: Just back to work after a medical leave, President Cristina Kirchner on Wednesday accused British Prime Minister David Cameron of portraying Argentina as "violent" in the Falkland Islands dispute.

Kirchner, dressed in black and a small surgery scar visible on her throat, plunged back into one of her country's most sensitive and longest-running disputes: over the South Atlantic islands Britain has held since 1833, and Buenos Aires considers its own.

"They are trying to paint us as bad guys, or violent guys and really, that is not who we are," Kirchner told a packed auditorium in a lengthy speech after 20 days of medical leave for thyroid surgery.

Cameron had accused Argentina of a "colonialist" attitude, a comment which enraged many in Argentina.

Protesters marched on the British embassy in Buenos Aires on Friday, burning the Union Jack, and demanding Argentina snap diplomatic ties with London. (AFP)