Jakarta,
July 23, 2014 (Antara) - Yuli Hastini, 44, was traveling home to Solo, with
her Dutch husband, Johny Poulissen (47), and two children, Arjuna Marten
Poulisse (5) and Srikandi Poulissen (3).
They
were going on the trip to enjoy Idul Fitri Holiday and, most
importantly, to visit the grave of her mother who had died late last
year while Yuli was away.
Before
her departure to Indonesia, Yuli had told her sister, Woro Pamiluti,
via phone that she hoped to visit her mother's grave because she had not
attended her funeral last year.
When
her mother was very sick in November 2013, Yuli had visited Solo and
assisted her mother for a week. But, several days after she had gone
back to the Netherlands, her mother had passed away, and she could not
return to attend her funeral.
"Yuli
lived with her husband and two children in the Netherlands. She was
working in a pharmaceutical company for the last seven years," Yuli's
brother-in-law, Awang Nuryanto, said in Solo recently.
Unfortunately,
Yuli, her husband, and children never reached Soekarno-Hatta
International Airport in Jakarta because they were among the 12
Indonesian nationals who were on board the ill-fated Malaysian Airways'
Boeing 777 Flight MH17, which had crashed in Ukraine after apparently
being shot down.
The
plane that had taken off from the Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, the
Netherlands, on July 17, 2014, and carried 283 passengers and 15 crew
members, lost contact while flying over the eastern Ukrainian airspace,
in a region controlled by pro-Russian rebels. Later, it was discovered
that the plane had been hit by a ground-to-air missile over the war
zone.
Among
those who had perished in the crash were 12 Indonesians, 15 airplane
crew, three babies, 192 Dutch nationals, 44 Malaysians, 27 Australians,
ten British, four Germans, four Belgians, three Filipinos, one Canadian,
and one New Zealander.
Upon
news of the tragedy, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on
July 18, 2014, had expressed deep condolences to the Malaysian
government and families of the victims, condemned the shooting down, and
called for an international investigation.
"Indonesia
has called for solidarity among the fellow ASEAN member nations to help
Malaysia deal with the situation and take international steps to seek
justice," President Yudhoyono stated in a press conference.
He
noted that Indonesia had also supported an emergency meeting of the UN
Security Council to discuss the tragedy and find ways to handle it. "If
it is true that the plane was shot down by a military weapon, it is a
violation of international and war laws," the president remarked.
The
head of state held a meeting with several ministers to discuss the
tragedy involving the Malaysian Airlines flight. "Of course, our hearts
and prayers go out to the families of the victims," Foreign Affairs
Minister Marty Natalegawa said following the meeting.
The
foreign affairs ministry and the Malaysian Airlines have been working
in tandem to contact the families of the victims in Indonesia, according
to him.
During
the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on July 21, 2014,
shortly after the adoption of Resolution No. S/RES/2166 (2014) on the
Malaysian Airlines MH17 crash, Indonesia's Permanent Representative to
the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Desra Percaya, stated in a
press release that Indonesia had demanded judicial trial of the faction
responsible for downing the Malaysian plane.
The
UN resolution had been adopted by consensus and co-sponsored by 13
members of the UNSC and the countries of the victims, including
Indonesia.
The
UNSC's resolution had condemned the attack and had called for a full,
thorough, and independent international investigation to be carried out
immediately.
On
July 21, 2014, President Yudhoyono had urged all concerned parties to
fully cooperate with countries of the victims to carry out the
investigation for humanitarian sake.
"It
is really sad that the families of the victims are still not able to
retrieve the bodies of their members or things to remember them," he
said.
The
Indonesian police have worked in tandem with the Indonesian Foreign
Ministry to assist Malaysia in identifying the crash victims. "Seven
members of the National Police's DVI team have joined the mission to
help identify the victims of the crash," National Police Chief General
Sutarman remarked in Jakarta recently.
The
police's DVI team and several provincial police personnel had conducted
an ante-mortem examination by collecting data and DNA samples from the
victims' family members.
The
Indonesian police's DVI team members had garnered global recognition
when they had successfully identified the victims of Russian Sukhoi
Superjet 100 aircraft, which had crashed on Mount Salak in West Java
several years ago, Sutarman emphasized.
Spokesman
of the Indonesian Police Brigadier General Boy Rafli Amar stated in
Jakarta on July 23, 2014, that a team of seven personnel led by DVI's
Director Senior Commissioner Anton Pastilani had left for Ukraine on
July 22, to gather and identify the Indonesian victims.
"According
to the information, they have arrived in Ukraine. They are responsible
for delivering the ante-mortem data of the victims' families, which is
expected to speed up the identification process of the victims," Boy
noted.
He
explained that the ante-mortem data of the families' DNA samples will
be used to assist in the postmortem identification of the bodies.
During
the next two days, the Indonesian DVI team will collaborate with the
Malaysian and Dutch teams, as well as the local authorities, in order to
transfer the remains to the Netherlands.
"The
major task of the team is to bring the bodies to the Netherlands to
match the ante-mortem data of the families with the postmortem reports,"
remarked Boy.
Boy
explained that of the 12 Indonesian victims, one family of the victim
named Mr Hadiono had not yet provided the DNA sample as they were living
in the Netherlands.
Learning
a lesson from the MH17 tragedy, President Yudhoyono has ordered all
Indonesian airline companies, which operate on international routes, to
avoid flying through war zones.
"I
instruct Indonesian airlines to avoid conflict zones, such as Ukraine,
Russia-Ukraine border, and Gaza Strip. The Transportation Ministry and
Garuda Airlines have also taken necessary precautions," President
Yudhoyono stated during a press conference at the presidential office on
July 18, 2014.
Earlier,
Malaysian Prime Minister Nadjib Razak said that no distress call was
received before the plane went down, and that the flight route was
declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organization. ***1***
(f001/INE)
(f001/INE)
No comments:
Post a Comment