On the afternoon of July 25, the Department of Administrative Police for Social Order (C06, Ministry of Public Security) held a conference to review Plan No. 356/KH-BCA-C06 on collecting DNA samples from relatives of unidentified martyrs.
Speaking at the conference, Politburo member and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that our country has more than 1.2 million martyrs, of which about 900,000 remains have been collected in cemeteries.
To date, there are still about 300,000 martyrs' remains that have been buried but their identities have not been determined...
In addition, Vietnam currently has about 652,000 war invalids, 198,000 sick soldiers, more than 132,000 Vietnamese Heroic Mothers and about 320,000 people affected by chemical toxins.
Reiterating those figures, the Prime Minister expressed his emotion and grief. The toxins left behind not only affect the lives of those directly affected, but are also passed down through generations. The war has passed, but many families are still waiting in pain for information about the graves and remains of relatives to be brought back to their hometown for burial.
The Prime Minister shared that he had met a family of a martyr in Nghe An who traveled to An Giang to pick up the remains of a relative. "You leave in bones and in meat, carrying youth, faith, and aspirations for the future. Now, relatives can only hope to find the remaining bones... just hope to confirm exactly who they are."
That is not only the aspiration of each martyr's family, but also the common aspiration of our nation.
The Prime Minister expressed concern about the reality that time is passing, climate conditions and harsh environments make it increasingly difficult to find and verify the identities of martyrs. Meanwhile, the relatives of martyrs, those who longed to welcome the return of their loved ones' graves, were getting older and weaker, and many of them were no longer there.
"If it is not done quickly, it will not be in time. No one lives forever waiting for the result. Therefore, we must make breakthroughs, travel faster to race against time. This is a race for memories, for ethics and for the future" - the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister affirmed that identifying DNA is not only a biotechnical operation, but also a key to restoring historical memories for martyrs' families, a tool to connect the past, present and future. This shows deep gratitude, which is the special moral and humanistic value of the Vietnamese people.
The Prime Minister expressed his hope and belief that, with steadfastness and perseverance in applying modern science; with deep gratitude and appreciation; with national spirit and compatriotism; with high determination, great efforts, and drastic actions of the entire Party, people, and army; of relevant ministries, branches, agencies and localities, we will continue to coordinate closely, effectively, creatively and flexibly apply tools, means, and resources to effectively and efficiently carry out this special task.
"We must achieve the goal of bringing many martyrs back to their names, homeland, and family, so that no one martyr is forgotten, no one martyr family has to wait and look forward to in hopelessness. Contributing to reducing the pain of war of the nation, of each people, of each family of martyrs and of our whole country" - the Prime Minister emphasized.
