艾滋病研究人员马航MH17上遇难
Nearly 30 Australians were on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine. As if that wasn’t tragic enough, more than 100 of the world’s top AIDS activists, researchers and health workers, bound for a conference in Melbourne, were also on the flight.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott delivered a blunt warning to Russia, that the international community will shun him and Russia at large unless something is done.
The 2014 AIDS conference in Australia has instead become a memorial for the dead. Up to a hundred AIDS researchers and policy makers may have been on doomed flight MH17 - their ultimate destination was the city of Melbourne.
"People have been devastated. this is just a terrible terrible blow to the whole HIV Movement," Clive Aspin, AIDS researcher said.
"What if the cure for AIDS was on that plane? Really, we don’t know. There’s some very prominent researchers who have been doing this for a long time," Trevor Stratton, AIDS advocate said.
For some who came to this vigil, the tragedy is more personal with family members among the dead.
"The most magnificent parents to us as kids, to my borther David and myself, and just generally the most wonderful people and we’re just devastated to lose them," Paul Guard, parents were on MH17 said.
"Yeah Mum, we love you, we love you so much and we’re going to miss you so much and they really wanted to see their little granddaughter walking when they came home tonight," Amanda Koopman, parents were on MH17 said.
On Friday, the Russian Ambassador was summoned to Canberra to explain the situation to Australia’s Prime Minister. Tony Abbott says the Ambassador’s attempt to blame the tragedy on Ukraine was deeply unsatisfactory.
"The idea that Russia can somehow say that none of this has anything to do with them because it happened in Ukrainian airspace does not stand up to any serious scrutiny," Tony Abbott, Australian prime minister said.
Later in Parliament, politicians held a minute’s silence.Russia has since hit back at Prime Minister Tony Abbott, saying he’s jumping to conclusions before a full investigation into the destruction of flight MH17 has been conducted.The tragedy has put Malaysian Airlines passengers departing from Australia on edge.
"Well, we’re pretty upset, and the people next to us were actually form Amsterdam and had friends on the flight, so she was crying," a passenger said.
"I’m shaking, and don’t know really what to do, to go or not to go, but I hope we get there and everything will be fine," a passenger said.
