Memorial service to be held for Australian MH17 victims, as

police denied access to crash for fourth day

Dutch and Aust forensic investigators heading to the MH17 crash site have turned back for safety
reasons.
No go zone ... a rebel separatist watches Dutch investigators in Donetsk. Picture: Paul Toohey
Source: Supplied
A NATIONAL memorial service for victims of the MH17 disaster will be held in Melbourne on August
7, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced.
The multi-faith service will be held at St Patrick's Cathedral.
"I hope many members of the public will attend to support the families of the victims," Mr Abbott
told Fairfax Radio this morning.
Nearly 300 people, including 37 Australian citizens and permanent residents, died when a Malaysia
Airlines plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine two weeks ago.
The service was being held in Melbourne because 16 of the victims came from Victoria, Mr Abbott
said.
On the day of the service, flags on all Australian government buildings, here and overseas, will be
flown at half-mast.
Arrangements have been made for an outside broadcast in anticipation of large crowds.
Meanwhile, Australian police in eastern Ukraine remain unwilling to risk the lives of their officers
and investigators in trying to access the MH17 crash site, amid fears mystery combatants are now
joining the battle, and a Ukraine official warning the rebels have laid mines near the crash site.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says the claims that land mines have been laid is "utterly despicable".
Ms Bishop says she is aware of reports that Ukrainian rebels have been laying land mines on roads
through to the crash site of the downed flight in eastern Ukraine.
The claims were reportedly by made a Ukrainian military spokesman.
"I don't know if those reports are confirmed," she told ABC radio on Thursday.
"If that is true, it is utterly despicable."
Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said separatist fighters have set landmines around the
MH17 crash site are a serious setback for the Australian and Dutch humanitarian mission.
"They have brought a large number of heavy artillery there and mined approaches to this area," said
Colonel Lysenko from the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.
"This makes impossible the work of international experts trying to start work to establish the
reasons behind the Boeing 777 crash."
Alexander Hug, deputy chief of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or OSCE,
which is attempting to negotiate access to the site, said: "If there was any indication of landmines all
security necessary would be implemented".
The presence of landmines would cause significant delays in the clearing the area, located east of
the separatist-held city of Donetsk, and already beset by heavy fighting that has made it too
dangerous for the recovery mission to get to the site.
The foreign teams have been repelled on four consecutive days from accessing the crash scene. They
are desperate to secure human remains that still lie in the open fields and will try again tomorrow.
Michael Bociurkiw from the OSCE said while heavy armaments had been introduced to the war in
recent weeks, there had so far been no evidence of the deployment of landmines.
Security fears ... Alexander Hug, deputy head of the OSCE mission to Ukraine, left, his colleagues
and a pro-Russian rebel examine a map as they try to estimate security conditions outside Donetsk.
Picture: AP Source: AP
It comes as Dutch police say it is unlikely they will be able to access the site because of ongoing
combat.
The head of the Dutch recovery mission in Ukraine, Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg, also said 68 Malaysian
experts and police officers were expected in Kiev to join the group.
The Malaysians will then travel to Kharkiv in east Ukraine, closer to the crash site.
"Unfortunately, we don't expect the security situation to improve enough over the next few days,"
Mr Aalbersberg told reporters in Kiev. "This makes it less likely that we will reach the crash site in
the immediate future. There is still too much fighting in the area."
Mr Lysenko was asked at a briefing about concerns that Ukrainian efforts to win back territory were
increasing fighting in the area and slowing access.
He said that Ukrainian troops weren't conducting operations against separatists near the site, but
were trying to cut off their supply lines to force them to leave the area.
The war is also being fought with misinformation and propaganda and there is some scepticism
about Colonel Lysenko's claims.
They do however serve to further complicate an already chaotic issue.
For the fourth day, the Australian Federal Police in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk have
decided they do not have sufficient safety assurances to send people on their humanitarian mission
to collect human remains and evidence.
Denied again ... Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine,
Alexander Hug (R), reacts after discussing security with rebels. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
The Australian Government has insisted its team not be placed at any risk. This may mean the crash
area will need to be tested for landmines and cleared if any are found.
That could take months because the area, east of the separatist-held city of Donetsk, is now the
scene of heavy battles, making it too dangerous for the mission to get to the site.
Further remains -- in all likelihood including Australians -- are lying unrecovered in the field and AFP
sources in Donetsk say they will not give up on their mission until they have full access to the site.
However, the battle frontline now appears to cross directly through the crash site, to which Michael
Bociurkiw from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said: "That's the
worst of all possible scenarios."
'The worst of all possible scenarios' ... Michael Bociurkiw, Spokesperson of the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe. Picture: Rob Stothard Source: Getty Images
IN PERSON: Paul Toohey detained by the rebels
EARLIER: Face to face with the Russian-backed rebels
On Tuesday afternoon a small, unarmed contingent including Dutch and Australian observers tried
to push through to the site with a separatist fighter escort after earlier in the day declaring they
would not go.
They were repelled by heavy fighting and needed to take cover in the town of Shaktersk, along the
route to the crash site.
The OSCE, who are trying to negotiate access, feel sure they have won assurances from the warring
Ukrainian army and separatists, who are fighting to create the independent Donetsk People's
Republic, that they will not be targeted.
'Mystery fighters' ... The OSCE mission turned back amid fears new fighters who have joined the
rebels will not stick to any ceasefire plan. Picture: AFP Source: AP
However, the battle is being joined by undeclared rebels who the teams fear will not respect any
ceasefire along the route.
The concern is that veteran Russian fighters and other unknown combatants are crossing from the
nearby Russian border to join the battle.
"We've been on the ground three months and there's a patchwork (of fighters) out there," said Mr
Bociurkiw.
"There's a lot of large, medium and small size groups who do not necessarily answer to each other."
Mr Bociurkiw said that in the neighbouring Ukrainian province of Luhansk, scene of another battle
to break from Ukraine, the OSCE had in recent months documented more than 100 different armed
groups, with altogether more than 4000 pro-Russian fighters.
Shot to hell ... a man and his dog look at a damaged area after shelling in Donetsk on July 29.
Picture: Bulent Kilic Source: AFP
There are now deep concerns over what is occurring in eastern Ukraine, which is seeing the first use
of heavy munitions fire in Europe -- including tanks and truck-mounted missile barrages -- since the
Balkans War ended in 1999.
"We started documenting existence of heavy weaponry some weeks ago with the existence of
MANPADS (man-portable air defence systems)," Mr Bociurkiw said.
"We also said at the time this was a threat to commercial aviation. It's gone from AK-47s to heavy
weaponry."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied he is supporting the Ukrainian separatists, but US
Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington has clear evidence heavy arms are crossing the
border into the Ukraine.
"Russians and their so-called volunteers are continuing to ship arms and funds and personnel across
the border," Mr Kerry said.
Talking tough on Russia ... US Secretary of State John Kerry. Picture: Paul J. Richards Source: AFP
Saying one thing, doing another ... Russian President Vladimir Putin. Picture: Felipe Dana Source:
AP
"We see this. There is clear evidence of it. We now have clear evidence of artillery and rocket fire
from Russia into Ukraine.
"And while the Russians have said that they want to de-escalate the conflict, their actions have not
shown a shred of evidence that they really have a legitimate desire to end the violence and end the
bloodshed."
He said the inability to access the site had dragged on too long.
"We support the efforts of the Malaysians, Dutch, and Australians to help the Ukrainians in order to
secure the site so that those investigations can take place now. They're overdue, and it is absolutely
important for the separatists to stand back and permit this access to take place."
Grief ... A woman looks at flowers left in commemoration for the victims of the Malaysia Airlines
flight MH17 crash at Schiphol Airport, near Amsterdam on July 30. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
The Dutch-led team, while not expecting to get to the site today, was still kitting up in body armour
for a mapping mission to try and find a way through.
Donestk was hit by intermittent missile shelling yesterday, with an apartment building shattered by
bombs.
Ukrainian forces that surround the city had apparently tried to hit a nearby separatist base.
Intense bombing barrages could be heard throughout the night and through the morning from the
outskirts.
It is not certain how much food remains in Donetsk as the Ukraine forces begin to blockade the city,
where an estimated 70 per cent of its one million inhabitants have fled.
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sh-for-fourth-day-fears-rebels-have-laid-mines/story-fndir2ev-1227007664940