GLOBAL COLLABORATION IMPORTANT TO SEEK JUSTICE IN MH17 FLIGHT TRAGEDY - NETHERLANDS PM

From N. Sevagamy

VIJFHUIZEN (The Netherlands) July 17 (Bernama) -- International collaboration is most vital in seeking justice for the 298 people killed in the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 tragedy 10 years ago, said Netherlands Prime Minister Dick Schoof.

“It's very important that the countries stick together. The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) is suspended, but whenever there is new information, they can start up immediately again. So, international cooperation is very, very, important,” he said. 

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He told this to reporters following the 10th commemoration ceremony of the MH17 tragedy held at the National Monument MH17 at Vijfhuizen Park, near Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on Thursday.

When asked if his message to all of the victims and their families was to not give up hope that justice will one day be served, Schoof said, "They will not give up hope that we will strive for it (justice)… But there are no guarantees."

He highlighted that the impact of the MH17 tragedy remains profound in the Netherlands.

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"In the aftermath, ten years ago, in the Netherlands, when the first casualties arrived, with coffins on the airfield, there was a huge crowd along the way, and the whole country mourned. Today, 10 years later, it is still such a significant event.

"All the flags are at half-mast... It has a huge impact in the Netherlands, as it does today, as it did 10 years ago," he said.

Earlier, more than 1,500 relatives and friends from around the world gathered in the monument park to pay tribute to the victims. The Netherlands King Willem-Alexander also attended the ceremony.

Family members, unable to control their emotions, began sobbing while reading out the names of the 298 people, including crew members, who were killed when the flight was shot down over eastern Ukraine ten years ago.

The list of the crew members was read out by Scot Choo, the son of the pilot, Captain Eugene Choo, who also perished in the MH17 tragedy. 

After reading the names of all the crew members, he said, "Thank you for serving our nation. We will miss you."

Most of the passengers were Dutch, but there were people from 17 countries onboard the Boeing 777 jet, including Australians, Britons, Malaysians and Indonesians.

The Boeing 777 was shot down over eastern Ukraine after taking off from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew members onboard on July 17, 2014.

On November 17, 2022, the Hague District Court in absentia sentenced two former Russian intelligence agents, Igor Girkin and Sergei Dubinskiy, along with a Ukrainian separatist leader, Leonid Kharchenko, to life in prison after finding them guilty on charges of causing the crash of MH17 and the murders of all 298 people on board.

Another Russian, Oleg Pulatov, was acquitted of the same charges.

-- BERNAMA