Hundreds of people have gathered outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing to protest what they call two weeks of “lies and misleading information” from the Malaysian authorities after flight MH370 disappeared two weeks ago.
Malaysian Airlines issued an official statement confirming that “beyond any reasonable doubt” flight MH370 has been lost and that none of the 239 people on board have survived on Monday night
Following the announcement, several hundred family members of the
flight’s passengers gathered in front of the Malaysian Embassy in
Beijing to decry what they see as the Malaysian government’s
mishandling of the tragedy.
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?" and
"Murderers!”
Bottles of water being thrown into embassy compound. small number relatives try to storm the embassy. Held back by police.
— Philip Wen (@PhilipWen11) March 25, 2014
Some protesters scuffled with plain-clothes policemen, but there
were no serious clashes reported.
Among the flight’s passengers, there were 153 Chinese nationals,
which has made the situation highly emotionally-charged in
Beijing. Members of family have lodged a number of complaints
about Malaysian Airlines’ management of the situation and accused
them of deliberately concealing the truth.
The Chinese Family Committee issued a statement this week,
branding the airline as “executioners.”
"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,” said the
statement.
Furthermore, the Chinese authorities demanded that Malaysia turn
over the satellite data they used to ascertain the plane had
crashed down in the southern Indian Ocean on its way to Beijing
from Kuala Lumpur.
"We demand the Malaysian side make clear the specific basis
on which they come to this judgment," Deputy Foreign
Minister Xie Hangsheng was quoted as telling Datuk Iskandar Bin
Sarudin during their meeting late Monday, reported AP.
On Monday night Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak made an
announcement, saying “It is therefore with deep sadness and
regret that according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the
southern Indian Ocean." He added that new analysis by
Analysis by the British satellite company Inmarsat and the UK's
Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) had led the Malaysian
authorities to conclude that the last location of the plane was
over the southern Indian Ocean.
However, there have been no sightings of the plane or debris that
would confirm this theory after an international search that has
lasted for two weeks.