One of the events Princess Anne and Sir Timothy Laurence much enjoyed during their visit to the Falkland Islands was the colorful and festive display for the Falklands Multicultural Day 2022 at Goose Green.
The Falkland Islands Governor, members of the elected government and public in general will be participating this Friday morning in the commemoration of the liberation of Goose Green settlement 38 years ago. However because of the Covid-19 pandemic the ceremony will be a shorter service to mark the occasion.
The Falkland Islands are preparing for the commemoration of significant anniversaries of events from the 1982 conflict when Argentine forces invaded the country. The first of these will take place at 2pm on Sunday 3 May, when a short memorial service will be held at Goose Green to mark the death of Lieutenant Nick Taylor.
A very emotional ceremony took place last Wednesday at Goose Green in the Falkland Islands in remembrance of those who gave their lives for the freedom of the small community which had been locked up by the invading Argentine forces in 1982.
As Mercopress have reported in a series of articles over the past eight years, the Falkland Islands are slowly being cleared of the landmines laid by Argentine forces during the 1982 war. Last week this process reached a key milestone when Goose Green settlement, the site of a key battle in late May 1982, was announced as being mine-free.
DYNASAFE Bactec recently returned to the Falkland Islands to continue demining operations, namely the completion of Phase 5a by March 18. “The break of around 10 weeks has allowed us all to recharge our batteries to finish these remaining tasks,” said Project Manager Julius Unsung.
Falkland Islanders who were held prisoner in the Goose Green Community Hall by the invading Argentine forces in 1982, joined with members of the British 3 PARA to commemorate those who died during the battle to liberate the settlement which happened at 13:30 hours May 29th.
Minefield clearance in the Falklands is going well on the current phase which will run until June 2017, Dynasafe Bactec Ltd. Program manager Guy Marot confirmed this week to Penguin News. Work to date has involved technical survey and clearance work in the Eliza Cove area (south east Stanley) and Goose Green, and is scheduled to continue after Christmas in the Mount Longdon and Hearndon Waters (Murrell) minefields, and Port Howard on West Falklands.
Members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) currently visiting the Falkland Islands have stated they are quite clear on the wishes of the Argentine families, in relation to the potential future identification of remains of unknown Argentine soldiers in the Argentine memorial at Darwin.
The Argentine province of Salta has passed a law forcing people to sing a song at every public event declaring that the Falkland Islands belong to Argentina. The law will also require every state school in the province to sing the song, known as ”Lilian Guitián, alongside the national anthem.