The above information was given by Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong - Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee when speaking at the ceremony to deploy the search and repatriation of martyrs' remains at Le Thi Rieng Park (Hoa Hung ward) on the morning of July 6.
Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong said that, implementing the direction of the Central Government and the National Steering Committee, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has closely coordinated with the Steering Committee of Military Region 7 and ministries and branches to synchronously deploy the 500-day and night campaign to search, repatriate and identify martyrs' remains.
According to Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong, in the process of implementation, the city mobilized the combined strength of scientists, press agencies and especially historical witnesses at home and abroad to verify information about mass graves at Do Thanh Cemetery (now Le Thi Rieng Park).
Historical records and testimonies from witnesses have created an important basis for determining the location of mass graves.
To improve accuracy, the City Steering Committee coordinated with specialized units and universities to apply many modern scientific methods such as ground-penetrating radar, resistance measurement and geophysical analysis. Survey results have identified many areas with abnormal signals.
After two days of excavation and exploration in point A of Le Thi Rieng Park, functional forces discovered a mass grave trench about 25m long and about 3m wide. Initially, 5 sets of remains and many other precious artifacts were found" - Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong informed.
According to Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Manh Cuong, this is a particularly important result, affirming the accuracy of initial assessments, and at the same time opening up prospects for continuing to search for martyrs still resting in this area.
On behalf of the city leaders, Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong expressed his deep gratitude to agencies, units, scientists, functional forces and especially historical witnesses who have accompanied and provided valuable information to serve the search and repatriation of martyrs' remains.
Emphasizing that the discovery of the mass grave is only the beginning, Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong said that in the coming time, Ho Chi Minh City will focus on implementing three key tasks.
First, the city continues to expand the scope of search, excavation and relocation according to professional procedures, ensuring absolute safety, and at the same time preserving artifacts to the maximum for verification work. Coordination with witnesses will continue to be promoted to determine more locations for mass graves.
Second, Ho Chi Minh City will strengthen the application of science and technology, continue to use ground-penetrating radar, geophysical methods and DNA technology to improve accuracy and shorten the time to identify martyrs' remains.
Third, the city will promote propaganda and spread the humanistic meaning of the search and repatriation of martyrs' remains; at the same time, calling on veterans and historical witnesses at home and abroad to continue to provide information, contributing to bringing heroic martyrs back to their families and homeland.
