The House of Representatives is positive about the idea of housing the wreckage of flight MH17 in a memorial and documentation center. Minister Wopke Hoekstra (Foreign Affairs) said that he is looking at the proposal with an ‘open mind’ that was brought to the attention of the MPs by the MH17 aviation disaster foundation.
“I think that would be nice to watch,” said Anne Kuik of the CDA during a debate about MH17. D66, VVD, PvdA, GroenLinks and PVV also support the idea. It would be nice if such a memorial center could come close to the National Monument in Vijfhuizen, says chairman Piet Ploeg of Stichting Vliegramp MH17.
According to Ploeg, the wreck means a lot to the relatives. “The wreck is the only place that comes close to the death of their loved ones. We can’t go to the crash site. So the wreck is very precious for many relatives.” Moreover, the downing of MH17 is a ‘very important moment’ in recent Dutch history.
The reconstruction of the wreckage was the most tangible and sensitive piece of evidence in the criminal proceedings in the Netherlands against four suspects. Two years ago, judges and lawyers took a look at the wreckage at Gilze-Rijen airbase.
In November last year, three suspects – Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinsky and Leonard Chartsjenko – were sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment. A fourth suspect, Oleg Pulatov, was acquitted.
Reconstruction
The wreckage was transferred to the Netherlands at the end of 2014. A reconstruction of the front part of the Malaysia Airlines aircraft was made for the investigation into the disaster. All 298 people on board, including 196 Dutch, were killed in the disaster.
A Russian Buk system shot down the Boeing 777 on July 17, 2014. That happened over eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian separatists fought against the government army. The rebels received support from Russia. Three suspects were convicted last year for involvement in the shooting down of the plane.
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