Chinese Families Of MH370: "Malaysian Govt And Military Are The Real Executioners"

Hundreds of angry protesters, many of them family members of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 passengers, marched on the Malaysian embassy in Beijing on Tuesday against what they call cover-up and mishandling of the disaster by Malaysian authorities.

scmp.com

A small group of grief-stricken family members attempted to storm the embassy building, but were repelled by police. The rest of the protesters stood outside the gates waving banners amid cries of "Are you coming out?" "Have you no shame?" "Murderers!” Some protesters scuffled with plain-clothes policemen, but there were no serious clashes reported.

rt.com

Beijing authorities had to call in reinforcement of paramilitary soldiers and plainclothes security agents to guard the embassy as protesters, some arriving by bus and others on foot, breached police lines set up several streets away.

scmp.com

"We want our families," read one placard. Others read "Son: mother and father's heart is broken, hurry home" and "Husband, hurry home. What am I and our son going to do?"
The protest did not appear to be spontaneous, as at least a dozen police cars were waiting nearby at the Lido. The embassy is about four kilometres (2.5 miles) from the Lido Hotel, where meetings have been taking place throughout the drama.

Shouting slogans and waving their placards, several dozen protesters were able to break through lines of uniformed police officers and marched all the way to the gate of the embassy compound, where about 100 paramilitary Armed Police soldiers with shields but no riot gear, and plainclothes agents, had formed a last line of protection. "Corrupt Malaysian government," "Liars!" shouted the protesters. A few threw water bottles over the gate onto embassy grounds. Some were seen being shoved about by plainclothes security officials, but no serious clashes appeared to have broken out.

scmp.com

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has told families of passengers of a missing Malaysian airliner that the plane ended its journey in the southern Indian Ocean, he said on Monday.

reuters.com

A meeting with Chinese relatives of the passengers on board MH370 and representatives of Malaysia Airlines was held before the announcement in Kuala Lumpur, according to the New York Times, and relatives were also reportedly sent a text message from the airline.

Both Malaysia Airlines and the Malaysian government have been criticized for their handling of MH370's disappearance. Whatever the practical benefits of using a text message to inform families that their loved ones were thought to be dead, it seems likely this move may also be criticized.

But many furious Chinese relatives and friends of passengers refused to believe it, wailing with anguish and screaming that the Malaysians were lying and hiding what they knew.

nytimes.com

“The Malaysian government is not telling the truth,” said one woman among the relatives of passengers who gathered at the Lido Hotel in Beijing to wait for news of the flight. “All governments are corrupt. The Malaysian government is hiding something.”

nytimes.com

A few people in the hotel ballroom in Beijing collapsed and were put on wheeled stretchers and taken to the parking lot, which was full of police cars and ambulances. Inside the hotel, police officers in navy-blue uniforms stood guard every few feet and blocked scores of jostling journalists from entering the ballroom. Several women emerged sobbing so hard that knots of friends and family had to help them walk to the elevators.

nytimes.com

“We demand the truth,” said a young woman in a red ski jacket. “The Chinese government should step up and find out the truth for us. Nobody cares about us. Nobody cares about the lives of our family.”

nytimes.com

Li Chengpeng, a popular Chinese social critic, gave voice to the deep skepticism held by many Chinese of the official announcement. He posted a message for the seven million followers of his microblog, calling Mr. Najib’s news conference staged theater. “Just now, they were not actually publicizing the truth but were merely giving a show of publicizing the truth,” he wrote. “It looks like there are traces of rehearsal. Politicians are shameless! Keep investigating!”

nytimes.com

The families of those lost aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 have joined together to issue a scathing statement accusing the Malaysian authorities of murder.

mashable.com

"If the 154 passengers did lose their lives, Malaysia Airlines, the Malaysian government and military are the real executioners who killed them. We the families of those on board submit our strongest protest against them. We will take every possible means to pursue the unforgivable crimes and responsibility of all three."

thetimes.co.uk

"At 10 p.m. on March 25, the Malaysian prime minister sent a statement to the families of MH370 passengers without any direct evidence that MH370 crashed in the south Indian Ocean and no people survived. From March 8 when they announced that MH370 lost contact to today, 18 days have passed during which the Malaysian government and military constantly tried to delay, deceive the passengers' families and cheat the whole world."

mashable.com

"This shameless behavior not only fooled and hurt the families of the 154 passengers but also misguided and delayed rescue actions, wasting a large quantity of human resources and materials and lost valuable time for the rescue effort."

businessinsider.my

The family of missing Queensland holidaymakers Rod and Mary Burrows have rallied together hours after Malaysian authorities announced flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.
Rod and Mary Burrows were travelling with their friends Bob and Cathy Lawton on flight MH370, which disappeared hours after leaving Kuala Lumpur for Beijing early on Saturday, March 8.

smh.com.au

Family and friends gathered on Tuesday morning at Sinnamon Park, in Brisbane’s west, delivering coffee and food, but declined to make any comment. The couple’s son Jayden arrived visibility distressed, telling reporters "I’ve got to get inside". From her home in the central Queensland town of Biloela, Mr Burrows’s mother Irene told the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin that ‘‘I can only hope that whatever happened, it was very quick and they didn’t know."

smh.com.au

Last week when the wait for news continued, the Burrows family released a statement thanking those involved in the search. "The enrichment and strength that Rod and Mary have given us, helps us to get through each moment during this very difficult time," the statement said. "It is comforting to know that Rod and Mary are together, wherever they are. "Our family will remain together to provide strength and support to each other as we maintain hope, but brace each other for the worst."

smh.com.au