A Dutch public prosecutor is already in Ukraine to scope out the pro-Russia separatists suspected of mistakenly shooting the plane down under the impression that it was a Ukrainian military transport plane.
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Holland has launched an investigation into the attack of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 that will charge the accused with war crimes and intentionally targeting a civilian aircraft.
The Dutch Law on Internal Crimes states that any individual can be prosecuted for committing a war crime against a Dutch citizen, and there were 193 Dutch citizens aboard the Boeing 777 that was hit with a missile last Thursday.
A Dutch public prosecutor is already in Ukraine to scope out the pro-Russia separatists suspected of mistakenly shooting the plane down under the impression that it was a Ukrainian military transport plane.
The prime minister of Holland has threatened to use its leverage with the European Union to impose harsh, economy-crushing sanctions on Russia if it does not get the separatists to clear the rebel-controlled area where the plane crashed.
According to Yahoo! News, Prime Minister Mark Rutte told a committee of the Dutch parliament,
It is clear that Russia must use her influence on the separatists to improve the situation on the ground.
If in the coming days access to the disaster area remains inadequate, then all political, economic and financial options are on the table against those who are directly or indirectly responsible for that.
At first, Rutte urged the importance of gathering facts before persecution, but that was before he learned that separatists were refusing to allow investigators access to the crash site and even some of the victims’ bodies.
He said that “measures would not be lacking” once the attacker is confirmed, not mentioning whether he agrees with the Western allies that Russia should be blamed for the 298 deaths because of its supposed involvement in giving the rebels the missile capable of reaching a plane 33,000 feet in the air.
The Dutch government has, however, noted Russia’s despicable reaction to the tragedy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is denying that the untrained rebels he is allegedly giving high-grade weapons to could possibly be responsible for such an attack despite the increasing evidence against him, ranging from phone calls to social media posts to photographs to the fact that the plane crashed in a city held by rebels.
Putin has assured that rebels will comply with investigators but has done nothing to make sure this happens, such as threatening to cut off their weapons supply.
Dick Berlijn, a former head of the Dutch armed forces, said,
In the Netherlands we are inclined to approach our opponents in a fair and socially acceptable way in hope that opponents will respond in kind. What we have seen, especially with the Russian administration is this didn’t impact at all, they saw this as a weakness.
Russia is Holland’s second-largest oil supplier and a vital source for Dutch exports, but morals may take precedent over gas and good prices when the next round of sanctions are issued.
Relatives of some of the victims met with Rutte along with the King and Queen of Holland to discuss what sort of memorial service would be most appropriate.
by Sean Levinson
This post originally appeared at Elite Daily. Reprinted with permission.
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Sean Levinson loves writing almost as much as he loves ranting about politics. Elite Daily lets him do both, and he couldn’t be happier now that he’s finally putting his years at SUNY New Paltz to good use. When he’s not writing, Sean enjoys nature excursions, playing the guitar and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Look for him on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” where he regularly appears in his most precious fantasies.
“In the Netherlands we are inclined to approach our opponents in a fair and socially acceptable way in hope that opponents will respond in kind. What we have seen, especially with the Russian administration is this didn’t impact at all, they saw this as a weakness. ” Similar to how the US is being viewed.