Queen Beatrix begins visit to Maxima’s Argentina

30 March 2006

AMSTERDAM — Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands arrives in Buenos Aires on Thursday to begin her first State Visit to the country where her daughter-in-law, Princess Maxima, was born.

Princess Maxima and her husband, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, are accompanying the Queen on the three-day visit.

Following an official welcome ceremony at the airport, the royals will travel to the centre of the capital to meet Argentine President Néstor Kirchner and his wife, Christina Fernandez de Kichner.

Queen Beatrix and her party will then attend an exhibition about human rights, organised by the Anne Frank Foundation, at the Banco Nacional in the Plaza de Mayo.

An organisation of Argentine women has campaigned for three decades to find out what happened to their children who were among the thousands ‘disappeared’ during the ‘Dirty War’ by the military junta (1976 to 1983).

The exhibition is entitled ‘Anne Frank; a history for today’ and has already attracted 150,000 visitors in Argentina. The government, human rights groups and the police have worked together to create a new version that was shown in police training schools.

Anne Frank’s story has also stimulated discussions about discrimination, persecution, tolerance and freedom, the organisers say.

Six panels have been added the original works to highlight the human rights abuses by the Videla military regime after a coup overthrew the civilian government in 1976. Maxima’s father, Jorge Horacio Zorreguieta, was a civilian member of the military government.

The Dutch Foreign Ministry helped finance this part of the exhibition.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2006]

Subject: Dutch news