MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Macri pledges to Malvinas relatives that Argentina will continue to struggle for the Islands' sovereignty

“Each April 2nd, we will remember and honor those young men that made the supreme sacrifice, a pledge we will never give up”, Macri told the next of kin

President Mauricio Macri received at the Olivos residence the relatives of the 90 soldiers buried at the Argentine military cemetery in the Falkland Islands and pledged that Argentina will continue to struggle for the sovereignty and recovery of the Islands.

 “We still have a task ahead, it is important that we continue with the task of healing and reparation. Our dream is stronger than ever, we will continue to claim what we believe is legitimate, and that is sovereignty over the Islands”, Macri told the relatives of the combatants, which were recently identified, and motivated a trip to the Falklands to pray and mourn their beloved.

“Each April 2nd, we will remember and honor those young men that made the supreme sacrifice, a pledge we will never give up”, added the Argentine president.

According to the Argentine calendar, April 2nd is the “Day of the Veteran and Fallen in the Malvinas War”, which recalls the day Argentine forces invaded the Falklands and occupied the Islands for 74 days, before surrendering to a British Task Force.

The relatives who met on Monday with Macri, last week flew to the Falklands to the Argentine Military cemetery at Darwin where for the first time in 36 years, they were able to weep and pray at the graves of 90 soldiers, who now have a full name, and which until recently were only identified with a black granite plaque reading “Argentine Soldier, only known unto God”

Macri compared this year's events with what happened in 2017, and underlined the significance for the next of kin to “farewell” their beloved. “It is very different from what we went through last year, something which seemed impossible and after so many years of resignation and anguish, with dialogue and mature diplomacy, we have been able to settle a debt of honor and recognition that we Argentines had with you”

“Thanks in the name of all Argentines for what you have done, and let's continue together in this path to the future, to love and to the re-encounter of Argentines”, stressed Macri, who during the ceremony was accompanied by the Minister of Defense Oscar Aguad and Human Rights Secretary Claudio Avruj.

Macri's words did not go unnoticed or without controversy. The Malvinas Veterans from La Plata and opposition groups underlined that the long process of identifying 90 of the (123) unknown soldiers graves in the Argentine military cemetery in the Falklands was an initiative going back a decade.