MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Memorial leaves for Falklands Friday

This Friday morning the vessel transporting the blocks for the Argentine Memorial to be assembled in Darwin Cemetery will be leaving the port of Campana.

A release from the Next of kin Committee of the Argentines fallen in Malvinas and South Atlantic islands indicates that "BBC Japan" with the 200 tons for the cenotaph will be seen off in a civilian ceremony with participation of relatives, war veterans, national and local authorities, youth delegations and residents from Campana and neighbouring communities.

An invitation for the ceremony was extended to President Néstor Kirchner and his closest aides but until Thursday evening it was unknown if he would be present.

However, Defence Secretary Jose Pampuro, Buenos Aires province governor Felipe Solá, Commanders of the three armed services, Mayor of Buenos Aires City Aníbal Ibarra, Malvinas Institute president Enrique Oliva, local authorities as well as provincial and federal members of Congress have confirmed they will be participating.

Further on the release says the vessel will be arriving in the Falkland Islands in five days time, and forty days later the Memorial should be assembled and ready for delivery.

"We will then begin contacts for the inauguration ceremony", adds the release, pointing out that the Committee has been working for over five years for the accomplishment of a cenotaph to honour the Argentine servicemen killed in the 1982 conflict.

The cenotaph in Darwin will be assembled by a local construction company contracted by the Committee and the main financer of the whole operation, Argentine businessman Eduardo Eneurkian.

The Memorial will have two walls in angle resembling stretched out hands where the names of all the Argentines fallen in the conflict will be engraved in alphabetical order.