Commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the sacrifice of Vietnamese and Algerian executives and journalists

On the morning of March 8, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinated with the Algerian Embassy in Vietnam to hold a commemoration ceremony for the 50th anniversary of the plane crash in Sóc Sơn and inaugurated a renovated memorial area for executives and journalists died in a plane crash on March 8, 1974.

Present at the event were representatives of ministries, localities, organizations, companies, related units and especially relatives of some deceased officials and journalists.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang said that 50 years ago, 15 Algerian journalists and technicians, 2 diplomats, 6 military officers, crew members and 9 Vietnamese reporters died in a plane crash while accompanying Algerian President Houari Boumediene on an official visit to Vietnam. Since then, they have always been attached to the land and the inhabitants of Soc Son. The great sacrifices of our brothers and sisters have helped deepen the emotional attachment and traditional friendship between the government and the people of Vietnam and Algeria.

According to Deputy Minister Lê Thi Thu Hang, to pay tribute to the late Vietnamese and Algerian civil servants and journalists who died in the plane crash, a memorial zone in their memory was built and completed in 2000 in the commune of Mai Dinh, Soc Son district, Hanoi city. The memorial zone has become a place where every year the people of the two countries gather to review the great contributions of their predecessors, together cultivating the increasingly enduring traditional friendship between Vietnam and Algeria.

Over the years, with the close attention of Hanoi city authorities at all levels and the residents of Mai Dinh commune, the memorial area has always been respectfully preserved. In order to have a memorial site compatible with the increasingly good relations between Vietnam and Algeria, thanks to the attention and support of the ministries, departments, and the close leadership of the leaders of the Hanoi People's Committee, of the People's Committee of the district of Soc Son and the People's Committee of the commune of Mai Dinh, the active support of the Algerian Embassy in Hanoi, the Vietnamese oil and gas group, the inhabitants of the commune of Mai Dinh, after several month of renovation work, today we jointly inaugurated the renovation project of the memorial area of the Vietnamese and Algerian executives and journalists who died in the plane crash of March 8, 1974.

The expansion and beautification of the commemorative area is a meaningful and human activity, helping to express gratitude to the executives and journalists who sacrificed their lives to nourish the relations between our two countries, as a place to educate the young generations of the two countries of today and tomorrow on revolutionary ideals, patriotism and the tradition of friendship and cooperation between the two peoples of Vietnam and Algeria.

Thanking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Committee of Hanoi, the Soc Son district and the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group for the renovation of the memorial area, Mr. Redha Oucher, charge d'affaires of the Algerian Embassy in Vietnam, stressed that the commemorative zone is considered a very strong connecting bridge in the history of traditional relations which recalls the friendship between Vietnam and Algeria thus demonstrating the spirit of solidarity in the fight of the two nations against colonialism for independence.

During the ceremony, delegates offered incense to commemorate the officers and journalists who sacrificed their lives.