PRESS RELEASE - 9 th MARCH 2018

GEOFFREY CARDOZO, JULIO ARO, GABRIELA COCIFFI AND ROGER WATERS HONOURED FOR THEIR HUMANITARIAN CONTRIBUTION IN IDENTIFYING ARGENTINE SOLDIERS

The Coordinator of the Project from the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team Morris Tidball Binz announced a further identification

London- 9 March 2018. A ceremony was held today in London in honour of Colonel Geoffrey Cardozo, Argentine veteran Julio Aro, journalist Gabriela Cociffi and musician Roger Waters, for their contribution to the mission to identify the unidentified Argentine soldiers buried in Darwin Cemetery on the Malvinas Islands.

During the ceremony, which was held at the Official Argentine Residence, the goldsmith Juan Carlos Pallarols handed each of the honoured guests one of his emblematic Roses For Peace alongside Argentine Ambassador Carlos Sersale. Attending the event were relatives of the soldiers — María Fernanda Araujo (President of the Malvinas Families Commission), Said Osvaldo and Dalal Massad—, veterans, Nigel Baker (Head of the South America Department at the FCO), Roberto Curilovic, in charge of organising the relatives’ visit to the Islands on 26 March (Aeropuertos Argentina 2000), and Laurent Corbaz (head of the Humanitarian Project for the International Committee of the Red Cross), among others.

It was Morris Tidball Binz who, in his capacity as Coordinator of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team for the identification project at Darwin Cemetery, announced a new identification, which takes the total to 90 soldiers. The news was received with warm applause by all those attending.

In 2008, following a trip to the islands, Julio Aro became the main driver behind the project through the Foundation “No me Olvides” (Don’t Forget Me). Thanks to his efforts and those of the other distinguished guests, on 20 December 2016 the governments of Argentina and the UK officially launched the project.

Having received the mandate of both countries, in 2017, the ICRC carried out the disinterment and burial work on 121 graves. To date, 90 Argentine soldiers have been identified. 107 families have provided genetic samples (10 forensic trials produced results that fell under the ICRC’s certainty threshold).

In his closing remarks, the Ambassador stressed that the project “is for the families and for humanitarian reasons”, and emphasised that it won’t end until the relatives travel to Darwin Cemetery on 26 March. “This moment will be for you – the relatives – and for no one else. For the rest of us, all we can do is offer our heartfelt support, respect, gratitude and recognition, to you and your sons.”

 

Photos Flickr @ArginUK: http://bit.ly/2Ijbb2e

Video Youtube @ArginUK: http://bit.ly/2tIo174