DutchNews.nl, November
10, 2014
A memorial to the victims. Photo: Novum |
More than 1,600 relatives of people killed in the MH17 disaster
will come together in Amsterdam on Monday afternoon for a memorial ceremony to
remember the 298 people killed when their plane was brought down in eastern
Ukraine.
The meeting will take place in the Rai exhibition centre in Amsterdam
and will be attented by king Willem-Alexander, queen Máxima, princess Beatrix,
ministers, MPs and former foreign affairs minister Frans Timmermans, now number
two at the European Commission.
The ceremony begins at 13.00 and will be
broadcast live on national television and radio. Prime minister Mark Rutte and
relatives of the victims will be among those to speak. Music will be provided
by Marco Borsato and the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest.
To mark the day, flags
will be flown at half mast on government buildings all over the country. The
programme has been organised in consultation with relatives.
Everyone on board
the Malaysian Airways plane was killed when it was brought down, apparently by
pro-Russian rebels, on July 17. Most were Dutch but there was also a sizeable
number of Australians and Malaysians.
Rutte told Nos in an interview the
memorial is a national remembrance event, something which is customary in the
Netherlands. ‘We are still far from working through this terrible disaster,’ he
said. ‘But a memorial ceremony gives the relatives a place. It contributes to
the process.’
A military aircraft brought several more coffins back from
Ukraine on Saturday, where they were received with the same solemnity as on
earlier occasions. The coffins were taken to a military base near Hilversum for
the remains to be identified.
Candles
illuminate the memorial ceremony. Photo: Novum
|
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— C.J. Chivers (@cjchivers) July 17, 2014
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