Chairman of Dutch Safety Board makes remarkable statement on Omtzigt affair

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HOUSE OF CARDS the Polder Edition: episode ‘Steun uit (on)verwachte hoek’

 According an article in Dutch newspaper NRC, Dutch member of Parliament Pieter Omtzigt instructed an fake eyewitness to tell lies during a public meeting in May 11 which discussed MH17 legal options.

The NRC article however has many mistakes and fails to provide context.

Despite this, the chairman of Dutch Safety Board (DSB) which was responsible for investigating the cause of the MH17 crash, Tjibbe Joustra, stated in a public statement at November 14 that ‘the Omzigt affair harms the MH17 investigation’. Dutch NOS reports here. 

Joustra states the story told by the witness and, as NRC believes,  instructed by Omzigt  provides space for alternative theories about how MH17 was shot down.

The statement by Joustra, member of the ruling party VVD, is very remarkable. DSB is an independant investigation organization. It should not interfer with any affair.

DSB is not allowed by law to provide any information on an investigation which is no included in the final report.

It is not the first time DSB is discussed for not being independant.

In September 2014 DSB deleted a text in the preliminary report. The text suggested Ukraine raised the flightlevel under which civil aviation is not allowed to fly as a direct result of the shot down of an Antonov military aircraft.

Tjibbe Joustra in September 2016 made a statement about who controlled the area from where the BUK missile was launched. He told press the area was controlled by pro Russia separatists. This information was not included in  the DSB final report.

DSB chairman Joustra, after the report presentation, ‘BUK Missile, launched from seperatist area’ from Max van der Werff on Vimeo.

So the DSB seems to be not totally independant of political influence. The sending of the SMS by Omtzigt was not smart. But the statement by Joustra was even more dumb.

 

 

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