MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Resumption of Darwin Memorial talks with British Ambassador.

Representatives from the Committee of next of kin of servicemen fallen in Malvinas held last Monday a low key meeting with recently arrived British Ambassador John Hughes to consider the inauguration ceremony of the Memorial built in the Falkland Islands Argentine cemetery.

According to the Argentine press the meeting was held at the Ambassador's residence and the Committee's representatives insisted with their request for an inauguration ceremony of the Memorial, (finished last March), with the participation of at least one next of kin of the 649 Argentine servicemen killed during the South Atlantic conflict with Great Britain in 1982.

The Committee's representatives included president Hector Cisneros; Treasurer Leandro de la Colina; legal representative Cesar Trejo and the architect who designed and oversaw the construction of the Memorial, Carlos D'Aprile.

Argentine press reports that during the meeting Ambassador Hughes said the British government favours that the maintenance of the Memorial be undertaken by the Committee of Next of kin through some agreement between private organizations.

The plot of land in Darwin with the Argentine Cemetery is currently managed and looked after by the British Ministry of Defence.

"The Islands government rejects the idea of a massive ceremony in reprisal for the Argentine decision, announced November 2003, to suspend the additional flights of Lan Chile between Punta Arenas and the Islands", point out the press reports.

London-Buenos Aires "tension" over the issue remains latent; UK complained the charter flights decision harms the Islanders and Argentina insists with its claim that "it's time the Islands authorize an Argentine airline to fly to the archipelago".

Apparently during the meeting Ambassador Hughes argued that the flights problem issue is currently in the Argentine field since there's been an offer (open skies policy) which was rejected by Argentina.

"But members of the Relatives Committee recalled that for the Argentine government the argument was exactly opposite: charter flights have been suspended because of the British-Falklands negative to an agreement with an Argentine airline.

The press report finally remembers that the Relatives Committee last August underwent an embarrassing situation when the planned private flight to Darwin to see the recently built Memorial was "aborted" by the Argentine Foreign Affairs ministry because among the passengers was then British Ambassador Sir Robin Christopher.

Furthermore, the Argentine Foreign office objected to the fact that the Relatives Committee was talking directly to the Islanders, whom the Argentine government does not consider part of the sovereignty conflict with Great Britain over the Falklands/Malvinas.