Buenos Aires, May 2nd, 2006.
To H.E.
The President of the Russian Federation
Vladimir Vladimirovich PutinDear Mr. President:
My name is Federico Pinedo. I am a Argentine National Congressman. I address Your Excellency with the purpose of joining the international campaign initiated by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation aimed at determining the whereabouts of the Swedish diplomat after whom the foundation was named, who saved thousands of Hungarian Jewish from the deportation to Nazi extermination camps during World War II, and whose final destiny, almost 60 years after his capture in the Hungarian capital by the Red Army, is still a mystery.
As Your Excellency may well know, according to the official version repeatedly sustained by the Soviet authorities, Wallenberg died in prison due to a heart attack in 1947. Yet, some ex convicts have assured seeing him alive during the 80’s
The Russian Federation has the possibility of rectifying the injustice committed to this person by carrying out all the necessary procedures and negotiations in order to finally clarify the destiny of the Swedish diplomat who, without expecting rewards, risked everything, even his own existence, in order to save thousands of human beings from a certain death.
Only in this way the ”Heroe without a Grave” will at last be able to rest in peace.
As a Congressman of the Republic of Argentina and a citizen of a country that has also gone through tragic situations in terms of human rights, I cannot but join this cause which seeks a historical compensation for this man who, through his work, stands for the values of heroism, sacrifice and unselfishness.
May God save Your Excellency,
Federico Pinedo
Argentine Congressman
Translation: Belén Closas
