International

SP member of Parliament Harry van Bommel says that he hopes that the report published today by the Research Council on Safety on the crash of flight MH17 can help those left behind by the disaster to deal with their huge loss. ‘Friends and loved ones of the dead have had to wait a long time for their many questions to be answered,’ says Van Bommel. ‘Now we have the report from the Research Council and hopefully this will represent a new step in the healing process.’

In the report it is noted that tight agreements are needed on the matter of flying over conflict zones. ‘The Netherlands must internalise the findings in this report and come up with a number of measures to ensure that a report of such a tragedy in the future can be ruled out,’ says Van Bommel. ‘I expect the Netherlands to take the lead internationally on this point.’

A further important conclusion from the research is that there had been a perfect opportunity for Ukraine to exclude air traffic from the airspace above its east, yet that didn’t happen. Also, alternative scenarios for the aircraft’s crash, such as that it was shot down by a fighter plane, can now be excluded.

A further finding was that there was a lack of direction and coordination from the Dutch government when it came to information, for which the victims’ families had to wait longer than was necessary for confirmation of their loved ones’ fate. ‘In this too adjustments are needed so that victims’ families from now on get a clear picture much more quickly,’ concludes Van Bommel.