BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — President Cristina Fernandez cautioned Argentine athletes traveling to the London Olympics about doing anything provocative in Britain, which is engaged in a renewed dispute with Argentina over the Falkland Islands.

As Fernandez was giving some athletes a sendoff Tuesday, she also defended a TV ad that ran two months ago on state-run television linking the London Olympics to the Falklands dispute. The International Olympic Committee immediately denounced the ad and warned Argentina about using the games as a political platform.

"We will show with pride, with honor, that we are Argentines," Fernandez said. "We don't need to do anything that conflicts with sports norms to show our rights."

Fernandez has intensified a campaign to pressure Britain into sovereignty talks, which it has pushed in every international forum.

Argentines insist Britain has illegally occupied the South Atlantic islands since 1833. Britain accuses Buenos Aires of ignoring the wishes of the island's population of about 3,000 people, most of who have said they want to remain British.

"They (British) are waiting for us to do something stupid, but we're not stupid," Fernandez said.

Fernandez called the controversial TV advertisement "divine."

"No matter who was bothered by it, to me it was creative, important," she said.

An Argentine legislator had suggested that athletes wear a logo on their Olympic uniforms that would carry the message "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" (The Falklands are Argentine). The proposal failed to gain traction.

The Argentine Olympic Committee has promised it will abide by the IOC's rule and not use the games as a platform for "political gestures." It has also defended the right of freedom of speech for its athletes.

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