MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine private visit to Memorial in August.

A small group of Argentine next of kin will be travelling to the Falkland Islands in early August for a brief ceremony to mark the completion of the Argentine Memorial at Darwin Cemetery.

In Buenos Aires a spokesman for the Malvinas Families Commission consulted by MercoPress confirmed that next-of-kin will be flying to the Falklands but "it was too early to know who would be on the flight".

However the spokesman confirmed that the passengers would be next-of-kin of servicemen killed during the conflict who have been actively involved in the Memorial project, but "no details were yet known about the aircraft to be used".

The Families Commission anticipated that while on the Islands they will express their gratitude to all those who have contributed to the successful completion of the Memorial.

In the Falklands the main headline of the Penguin News Friday edition was that a small group of family members of Argentine soldiers killed during the South Atlantic conflict will be visiting the Memorial next month in a private aircraft.

Penguin News breaking news was based on a release from the Falkland Islands Government stating that "the Argentine Families Commission has sought the agreement of the Falkland Islands Government to a day visit by a small group from the Commission to the Argentine Memorial at Darwin on Friday 6 August, to enable them to conduct a short ceremony to mark the completion of construction work. Councillors have given their agreement to this visit.

The visitors will be no more than twelve in number and will not include any Argentine politicians or officials.

The visitors will travel by private aircraft, under the terms of the understanding on private flights concluded in February 2001".