The UN Security Council was scheduled to vote yesterday on an Australia-proposed resolution demanding international access to the Ukraine plane crash site and a ceasefire around the area, with diplomats pressuring a reluctant Russia to approve it.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said his country would view a Russian veto of the resolution “very badly,” adding that “no reasonable person” could object to its wording.
“Given the almost certain culpability of the Russian-backed rebels in the downing of the aircraft, having these people in control of the site is a little like leaving criminals in control of a crime scene,” Abbott added.
Photo: Reuters
Russian officials have blamed Ukraine’s government for creating the situation and atmosphere in which the plane was downed.
Security Council diplomats held consultations late on Sunday until past midnight to work out key differences between Australia and Russia. The diplomats emerged cautiously optimistic that a resolution would be approved, but Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin would not guarantee it.
“It was a worthwhile session, so let’s see what the result is going to be tomorrow,” he said.
The resolution calls for pro-Russia separatists to allow access to the site of the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 carrying 298 people. It asks for the full cooperation of all countries in the region, including Russia.
Meanwhile, Dutch forensic investigators yesterday told the armed separatists guarding train cars full of bodies from the jet that the train must be allowed to leave within hours.
The experts from the Dutch National Forensic Investigations Team also pressed for the train cars parked near the rebel-held town of Torez to be sealed.
Journalists at the site said the smell of decay was overwhelming.
Then the experts headed for the crash site itself, 15km away, accompanied by monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
In other developments, the grief and mourning sweeping across the Netherlands in the aftermath of the downing of the plane has been joined by anger.
The Dutch have widely condemned the way the bodies of their loved ones have been treated in Ukraine and that they have not yet been returned home.
“No words can describe it,” said Silene Fredriksz-Hoogzand, whose son Bryce and his girlfriend Daisy Oehlers died on their way to a vacation in Bali. “Bodies are just lying there for three days in the hot sun. There are people who have this on their conscience. There are families who can never hold the body of a child or a mother.”
Prosecutors in the Netherlands said they have begun a criminal investigation, though it remains unclear exactly where any suspects might be brought to justice.
“We are looking into allegations of murder, war crimes and downing a civilian passenger plane,” a spokesman said.
Fredriksz-Hoogzand was among the scores of victims’ relatives expected at a private meeting yesterday near the central city of Utrecht.
King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte were scheduled to meet with the relatives.
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