Amsterdam memorial for MH17 crash

Prime Minister Mark Rutte and King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima were among the dignitaries present in Amsterdam, honoring the 298 killed aboard flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Some 1,600 of the bereaved also attended the ceremony, including classmates of the children on board, who laid wreaths among 298 large candles.

"What if the holiday had started a day later? What if the plane had been late? What if I wake up and realize it was all just a dream," Prime Minister Rutte asked at the ceremony. "But there is no what if, only the harsh reality of 298 dead. They will not be forgotten, the beautiful, warm and touching memories are forever."

Flags flew at half-mast outside the conference center on the outskirts of the capital and around much of the country. Mourners from the various affected countries read out the names and ages of all those killed, in a ceremony broadcast live on Dutch television and radio. A trumpet rendition of The Last Post followed a minute's silence for the dead, 193 of whom had Dutch citizenship.

Investigations, recovery ongoing

Four months after the Boeing 777 went down, the cause of the crash is still under investigation, as recovery crews continue to comb the wreckage. So far, 289 of the known passengers have been positively identified; Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders on Sunday warned that some remains might never be located. The debris field from the crash spreads over several square kilometers, owing to the plane breaking up at high altitude, not on impact with the ground.

A preliminary investigative report into the crash, released in September, found that the plane was likely hit "by a large number of high-energy objects."

The government in Kyiv and several Western countries accuse pro-Russian separatists of shooting down the airliner, saying they used a sophisticated surface-to-air missile supplied by Russia. The Kremlin disputes this, however, saying a Ukrainian jet might have been involved.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday accused Ukraine's military of hampering the clean-up and recovery efforts around the MH17 crash site.

"The reference that the territory of the crash site is controlled by so-called pro-Russian separatists is totally unfounded," Putin said. "It is not them but the opposite side [that is] constantly shelling the site and not allowing full work there."

Continued fighting around the crash site slowed the recovery efforts, even prompting the investigations to be briefly called off in the aftermath of the crash. Over the weekend, eastern Ukraine suffered some of its most fierce fighting since a September ceasefire helped calm the conflict which began in April. The US, Germany and others voiced concern about an unmarked military convoy spotted in the region, which the government in Kyiv on Monday said was comprised of Russian troops "in dark green uniforms without insignia."

msh/glb (AFP, AP, Reuters)