3 weeks Ago
Symbols of Resistance for Truth and Justice
Each chair is a memorial to a victim of the downing over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, of the flight, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Investigations found pro-Russian separatists fired a missile that had taken the aircraft down.
"This is a drop in the ocean, but it is a meaningful one," Sander van Luik, a member of the group, said. "The chairs face the Russian embassy, waiting for answers long overdue from Moscow.
The protest is meant to ensure that international attention remains on Russia's role in the tragedy. The United Nations' civil aviation agency last month publicly found Russia to blame for the incident, underlining international calls for accountability.
Pressure on Russia Remains
Russia has repeatedly rejected international inquiries that found evidence of Russian involvement. For the families of the victims, the empty chairs remind not just of the lives lost, but also of the continuing search for justice.
"The family members continue to call for truth and justice," Van Luik said, emphasizing the ongoing significance of the protest more than a decade after the tragedy.
