AS the world mourned on the seventh-year anniversary of the downing of flight MH17, netizens took to Twitter to remember that the world has not forgotten the tragedy that took hundreds of lives.
“Remembering #MH17 today. 7 years ago, MH17 from AMS to KUL was shot down over Ukraine. 283 passengers, 15 crew were killed.
The Netherlands, Australia have memorials honouring those who lost their lives that day. The Malaysian govt has barely done anything. Our plane. Our ppl,” said Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy chief executive officer Azrul Mohd Khalib.
New South Wales Foreign Minister & Minister for Women Marise Payne added: “On the 7th anniversary of the downing of #MH17 in Ukraine, we remember those who died – including the 38 victims who called Australia home.
“We remain steadfast & committed to pursuing truth, justice & accountability for the 298 victims on board & their loved ones.”
In July 14, MH17, en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam, was shot down while travelling on Ukrainian airspace, suspected to have been done by pro-Russian insurgents in the country, killing 283 passenger and 15 crew members.
The victims were from Malaysia, the Netherlands, Australia, Indonesia, Britain, Belgium, Germany, the Philippines, Canada and New Zealand.
An international investigation led by Netherlands, concluded that a BUK missile that had originally come from the Russian army’s 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade based in the city of Kursk, was responsible for the incident.
Last month, Dutch judges overseeing the murder trial of three Russians and a Ukrainian man accused of downing MH17 started hearing evidence in a high-security courtroom, next to Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.
Justice takes time but is inevitable
In June 2019, then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad drew the ire of many when he accused the Dutch-led investigation team of being biased against Russia.
“We are unhappy. From the beginning, it became a political issue on how to accuse Russia of the wrongdoing.
“They blamed Russia even before the investigation began,” the Langkawi MP was reported saying then.
Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated: “We remember 298 victims of the downing of #MH17. The crime has been investigated in detail despite Russia’s fake stories and unwillingness to cooperate.
“Now it’s about establishing each perpetrator by name & bringing them to justice. Justice may take time, but it is inevitable.”
User Lafa recalled that he was merely 14-years-old when MH17 was shot down, leaving him becoming too afraid to fly to the US for a vacation.
“It’s a real shame that the perpetrators haven’t been brought to justice,” he remarked. – July 17, 2021.
