ROZSYPNE/DONETSK, Ukraine – The stifling heat of last July has made place for a breezing cold. The bright red and yellow leafs of the trees are waving on the gulfs of the cold wind. Autumn has made its way to eastern Ukraine. However, near the village of Rozsypne – some 80 kilometres east of Donetsk – not a lot has changed since Malaysian Airlines flight 17 was shot down from the sky, killing all 298 people aboard.
Almost four months later, the wreckage of the Boeing 777 cockpit still lies scattered and untouched on a field of dried and withered sunflowers. The area is deserted, and the only sound is the echo of exchanging artillery fire in the far distance. It comes with pauses, but it remains constant as some plumes of smoke arise on the horizon.
Further north in the direction of Debaltseve lies the front where intense fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatists still takes place, despite an agreed ceasefire as of Sept. 5. These clashes have been the main argument of the Dutch government to withheld sending its investigation team to the crash site. “It’s too dangerous,” according to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Nov. 10 marked the national commemoration ceremony in the Netherlands of the fallen MH17 passengers, yet until to date there has not been a lot of satisfying progress leaving those left behind solely in anger and despair.
Earlier, former Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans claimed on a popular Dutch talk show that one victim was found wearing an oxygen mask, frightening relatives as his statement suggested that the passengers might in fact have been conscious before the plane had hit the ground. Later, he apologized but Dutch forensics did confirm one victim was found with an oxygen mask though it was highly unlikely this passenger was conscious after the aircraft was hit.
Also, the Dutch government has been accused of being too passive as they refused to directly negotiate with the self-proclaimed separatist government, stating that Ukraine did not want Dutch officials to negotiate with rebels, resulting in a delay gaining access to the crash site. “In my perception, there was no delay due to the fact that we have not worked through separatists,” PM Rutte stated.
Recently, however, Ukrainian officials offered a statement that the Dutch authorities could actually – if they wanted to – directly negotiate with rebel officials regarding access to the crash site leaving the Dutch nation in disbelief.
“The Netherlands had the legal obligation towards the relatives of the victims to act out the firm language it used at the United Nations Security Council instead of coming up now with a lot of excuses that should not matter,” Geert-Jan Knoops said, a lawyer who specializes in international criminal law. “Almost 200 compatriots were killed. The Dutch government had the legal, moral and international right to use military force if our MPs wanted to.”
Harry Van Bommel, a member of the Dutch Socialist Party, silently referred to a possible future political crisis.
“At first we were satisfied with the government being restrained. They promised to make it its first priority to take back the victims – our people – and their belongings. However, now this satisfaction has turned into anger and disappointment,” Van Bommel said.
The German intelligence agency has publicly pointed to the Russian-backed separatists as responsible for downing the MH17, claiming to have gathered enough evidence to support this allegation. Dutch officials, though, choose not to already accuse one party as the Netherlands have the leading role in the criminal investigation. To many this is a thorn on their side, making it hard for the Dutch government to gain trust from its citizens.
“We have to be cautious, whereas harsh judgements may have been given previously, some were later already withdrawn. Given our role in the mission we can’t afford to do the same,” Han Ten Broeke explained, member of the liberal right-wing party VVD. The VVD has been part of the coalition government and has a majority of seats in the Dutch parliament. It has actively supported the government in its actions involving MH17.
Due to the amount of criticism the Dutch government received, it has been quite a surprise that last week a Dutch team of investigators were given access to the crash site where it collected human remains of five victims, transporting it back with the expected dignity to the Netherlands. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Ukraine is helping to assist visits to the crash site for the Dutch investigators.
Removing parts of the aircraft wreckage was supposed to start in cooperation with the self-proclaimed Ministry of Transport of the ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’.
On Nov. 11 Dutch officials of the investigation mission, however, arrived at the crash site, making only photographs of the wreckage in preparation of possibly removing it in the upcoming weeks. Later, it became clear that the OSCE – assisting the visits to the area – was unable to reach an agreement with Russia-backed rebels controlling the area, failing to start the removal.
Some praised this quick action following the massive criticism, others found it quite hypocritical. “If they can do it now, why couldn’t they have done it two or three months earlier?” is the question many are raising.
Although the final investigation could take up to a year to complete, Bellingcat, a private team of online investigative journalists, has released already its own conclusion based on a thorough analysis of videos and photos on different social media. It believes that evidence points to a Russian Buk missile launcher in the area on the date of the crash.
Meanwhile, winter is approaching in eastern Ukraine, making it more difficult to resume the investigation, and thus it will soon be “on hold” again, although it is argued that the cold winter might destroy more evidence, resulting in what some say a failed investigation.
A local Rozsypne resident Tatiana, who only wanted to give the Kyiv Post her first name, wants those responsible for the downing of MH17 to be brought to justice. Shyly she put her head down as she explained: “So many children were killed. So much injustice has been done.” She speaks of the village where she grew up as a current place of fear. “I have nightmares ever since the crash happened. Dead bodies fell onto the roof of my neighbor,” she desolately said, adding: “I too will remember the victims, but not just for one day, but my whole life.”
Stefan Huijboom is a Dutch journalist based in Kyiv. He can be reached at [email protected].
