Scores of angry relatives of the Chinese passengers aboard Flight MH370 set out on a protest march to the Malaysian embassy in Beijing Tuesday to demand more answers about the crashed plane's fate.
Around 200 family members, some in tears, linked arms and shouted slogans including "The Malaysian government are murderers" and "We want our relatives back".
The embassy is about four kilometres (2.5 miles) from the Lido Hotel, where meetings have been taking place throughout the drama. A new chapter opened late on Monday when Malaysia said the plane had crashed in the Indian Ocean.
Chinese authorities normally keep a very tight rein on any protests in Beijing. Scores of black-clad uniformed police officers were blocking traffic at the diplomatic mission, their walkie-talkies abuzz.
A relative who refused to give his name, but who has been one of the unofficial leaders of the Flight MH370 group, told AFP that the police "would have known" about the demonstration.
"We are still discussing with the police what we are going to do," he told AFP. "Maybe they are preparing for us to arrive."
Earlier, the relatives boarded large shuttle buses bringing them from various hotels to the Lido, intending to take them to the diplomatic mission, but dozens of police surrounded the vehicles and prevented them from driving off, leading them to march instead.
"We are going to protest at the Malaysian embassy," one man told AFP as he joined some 200 other relatives to board the buses at the hotel where they had gathered throughout the 17-day ordeal.
One family member was holding a loudspeaker and urging journalists to head to the embassy, while others stood in a group, sombre and motionless, many holding pre-prepared printed placards and wearing "Pray for MH370" T-shirts.
"We want our families," read one placard. Others read "Son: mother and father's heart is broken, hurry home" and "Husband, hurry home. What am I and our son going to do?"
The protest did not appear to be spontaneous, as at least a dozen police cars were waiting nearby at the Lido.
The officers were standing in a row behind a sign reading: "Traffic restrictions, vehicles take a circular route." A policeman refused to say why the traffic restrictions had been imposed when asked by an AFP reporter.
The move to protest outside the embassy came hours after relatives reacted with grief and anguish as Malaysia confirmed their worst fears about the flight.
In dramatic scenes at the Lido Hotel, stretcher-bearing paramedics were drafted in to tend to family members devastated by the news, with at least two people carried out.
China has demanded that Kuala Lumpur hand over the satellite data which led it to conclude that the Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines flight crashed at sea and that none of the 239 people aboard survived. Two-thirds of the passengers were Chinese.
AFP
Tue Mar 25 2014
AWANI Tonight: 3rd May 2024
#AWANITonight with Hafiz Marzukhi
- M'sia drops 34 spots to 107th in World Press Freedom Index
- Gaza: Turkiye halts all trade with Israel
#AWANIenglish #AWANInews
- M'sia drops 34 spots to 107th in World Press Freedom Index
- Gaza: Turkiye halts all trade with Israel
#AWANIenglish #AWANInews
Menteri Luar Malaysia akan wakili PM Anwar di Sesi Ke-15 Sidang Kemuncak OIC di Banjul, Gambia
Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan akan mengetuai delegasi Malaysia selaku wakil Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim ke Sesi Ke-15 Sidang Kemuncak OIC di Banjul, Gambia dari 4 hingga 5 Mei ini.
Perhilitan Kelantan tangkap gajah liar ganggu penduduk di Tanah Merah
Jabatan Perlindungan Hidupan Liar dan Taman Negara (Perhilitan) Kelantan menangkap seekor gajah liar di Kampung Tal Tujuh, Jerangau, semalam.
Pemuda dipenjara lapan bulan, denda 1,500 kerana curi beg sandang wanita sarat hamil
Seorang pekerja sebuah syarikat penapis air yang mencuri beg sandang seorang wanita sarat mengandung sembilan bulan dihukum penjara selama lapan bulan oleh Mahkamah Majistret di sini hari ini.
AWANI 7:45 [03/05/2024] – 15 lokasi skrin besar | Malaysia di kedudukan 107 | Nasihat Mufti Perak
Laporan berita padat dan ringkas #AWANI745 bersama Syaff Shukri
Tumpuan #AWANI745 malam ini:
- Misi 'pecahkan Tembok Besar China' dan mara ke final Piala Thomas
- Indeks kebebasan media Malaysia merudum
- Tersasar daripada landasan keadilan Islam, mufti nasihat henti boikot KK Mart
- Cedera di kepala, kaki dan tangan, polis buru dua individu samun Akhyar Rasid
Saksikan #AWANI745 di saluran 501 Astro AWANI, Astro AWANI apps dan astroawani.com/live-tv
Tumpuan #AWANI745 malam ini:
- Misi 'pecahkan Tembok Besar China' dan mara ke final Piala Thomas
- Indeks kebebasan media Malaysia merudum
- Tersasar daripada landasan keadilan Islam, mufti nasihat henti boikot KK Mart
- Cedera di kepala, kaki dan tangan, polis buru dua individu samun Akhyar Rasid
Saksikan #AWANI745 di saluran 501 Astro AWANI, Astro AWANI apps dan astroawani.com/live-tv
AWANI Tonight: Malaysia drops 34 spots to 107th place in World Press Freedom Index
Malaysia placed 107th in the World Press Freedom Index, dropping 34 places from 73rd last year with a score of 52.07 points.
AWANI Tonight: Turkiye halts all trade with Israel
Turkiye will suspend all trade with Israel over its offensive in Gaza until it allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of aid into the Strip to address the humanitarian crisis there.
PM tidak pernah pinggir masyarakat India malah salur pelbagai bantuan - Ramanan
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tidak pernah meminggirkan masyarakat India di negara ini malah beliau telah meningkatkan lagi peruntukan kepada mereka.
Tiga pegawai polis berpangkat ACP, DSP, Inspektor disyaki terlibat pemerasan ditahan
Tiga pegawai kanan polis berpangkat Asisten Komisoner, Deputi Superitendan dan Inspektor yang disyaki terlibat dalam kes pemerasan berjumlah RM1.25 juta ditahan pada Jumaat.
AWANI Ringkas: MKT UMNO beri komitmen sokong calon PH
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.