Russia won't speak of role in Najib-Borodai deal

MH17 The Russian Embassy in Malaysia has refused to reveal whether Moscow helped broker a deal between Putrajaya and separatists in Ukraine.

Russian ambassador Lyudmila G Vorobyeva was asked about Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's deal with the self-declared People's Republic of Donetsk Prime Minister Alexander Borodai.

"It is the perfect right (of Malaysia) to enter into contact with anyone who can help to resolve this situation and this contact proved to be constructive and fruitful.

"The result is the decision by the rebels to hand the black boxes to the Malaysian experts," she told a press conference at the Russian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

Asked what  Russia's role in brokering the deal was, Vorobyeva, after a slight pause, replied: "No comment."

Najib announced after midnight today that he had been in contact with Barodai and had secured the separatists’ agreement to return the black boxes of downed Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 and also the bodies of those who perished.

Najib's move received mixed response with some criticising the prime minister for recognising a rebel state, but the New York Times hailed the move as a "diplomatic success".

Najib said he wanted to be more vocal about the incident but noted that at times, "we must work quietly in the service of a better outcome".

'Thank-you for not blaming us'

Malaysia's national security council representative Mohamed Sakri received the black boxes from Barodai in a ceremony in Donetsk.

Representatives from Malaysia also signed an agreement with Barodai to secure the black boxes and the bodies of the victims on board Flight MH17.

Flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17 with 298 people onboard.

Vorobyeva said Malaysian representatives who received the black boxes from the separatists this morning (Malaysian time) also confirmed that the devices were not tampered with.

"The black boxes have special security seals and the Malaysian experts certified thy have not been tampered with," she added.

She claimed that the separatists had wanted to allow investigators and recovery workers into the crash site but were prevented from doing so as the Ukraine government was continuing its military operations nearby.

"Kiev did not stop the bombing and fighting. Who in his right mind would want to go to an area where there are bombs (exploding) and risk being killed," she said.

Vorobyeva also thanked Malaysia for not blaming Russia for the downing of its aircraft.

"We are very appreciative of the position of the Malaysian government that is neutral and not blaming anyone before any tangible evidence is produced as a result of international investigation," she said.

She also expressed confidence in Moscow and Putrajaya's continued bilateral relations.



Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/269521

MIC: PAS leader should be struck by lightning

MH17 If anyone had incurred God's wrath, it is Kedah PAS Youth information chief Ahmad Tarmizi Sulaiman for saying that those in the downed MH17 lost their lives due to Malaysia Airlines' sins, said MIC.

Party director of strategy S Vell Paari said Ahmad Tarmizi's "divine logic" only shows that he is "intoxicated with stupidity and recklessness".

He said that instead of showing mercy and compassion, as taught in Islam, Ahmad Tarmizi (left) "rubs salt into the gaping wounds" of those who lost their loved ones on the flight.

"It is he who should be struck down by lightning for uttering such distasteful things," he said in a statement late last night.

Ahmad Tarmizi, in a press statement, said that MAS has been hit with a double tragedy because it incurred Allah's wrath for serving alcohol on board and its female flight attendants do not adhere to Muslim dress code.

Meanwhile, Vell Paari urged PAS and Pakatan Rakyat leaders to "censure" Ahmad Tarmizi to prove that the party and coalition do not share his "myopic" views.

"This is a time for all Malaysians regardless of race, religion and political ideologies to unite in grief. There is no room for idiots during a time of such a grave crisis," he said.

MAS' Flight MH17 fell in eastern Ukraine after it was shot down on July 17 en route to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board, including children.

Flight MH370, which disappeared off radar screens on March 8 with 239 crew and passengers on board has yet to be found.



Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/269516

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flight passed the same route 1 hour after #MH17

US blames Russia for MH17 crash in Ukraine

WASHINGTON, July 18 ― The United States said yesterday that Russia's support for separatists in Ukraine created the conditions in which a Malaysian airliner was apparently shot down with the loss of nearly 300 people.

Washington also demanded an “unimpeded” international inquiry into the disaster and warned evidence among scattered debris, on an escalating civil war battlefield in Ukraine, should not be tampered with.

The White House response to the tragedy was a clear rebuttal to Russian President Vladimir Putin's charge that Ukraine's crackdown on separatist rebels stoked tensions that led to the crash.

“While we do not yet have all the facts, we do know that this incident occurred in the context of a crisis in Ukraine that is fuelled by Russian support for the separatists, including through arms, materiel, and training,” the White House said in a statement.

In calls with pro-Western Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, President Barack Obama put down an early marker on the necessary conditions for an air accident investigation that will have to take place in the middle of an escalating civil war.

More than 150 Dutch citizens are believed to be among the dead when the Malaysia Airlines jet crashed. US officials said the jet was hit by a surface-to-air missile but could not say who launched the attack and from where.

The White House said that Obama told Rutte the United States was prepared to contribute “immediate assistance” for “a prompt, full, credible and unimpeded international investigation.”

Obama and Rutte also agreed on the need for “immediate access” to the site of the crash in territory held by pro-Russia separatists, the statement said.

'Thorough and transparent' investigation

The airliner went down a day after Washington toughened sanctions on Moscow, saying it had not done enough to convince Ukrainian separatists to lay down their arms or to stop the flow of weapons and material across the border to rebels fighting the government in Kiev.

Ironically, initial reports that the plane had gone down over the war zone came when Obama was on the phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin explaining why Washington was taking new swipes at the defence, finance and energy sectors of the Russian economy.

The White House warned in an account of a call between Obama and Poroshenko that evidence from the plane, which was carrying 298 people, must not be taken out of the country until a “thorough and transparent” investigation had taken place.

Obama assured Poroshenko that US experts will “offer all possible assistance immediately” to investigate what caused the plane to plunge from the sky.

“The presidents emphasized that all evidence from the crash site must remain in place on the territory of Ukraine until international investigators are able to examine all aspects of the tragedy,” the White House said.

The White House statements raised the possibility that US officials are concerned pro-Russian forces could try to tamper with the evidence of the wrecked aircraft to cover up who is to blame.

Obama also spoke by telephone to Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, as his country reeled from the second disaster to strike the national airline within four months.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, and is believed to have crashed into a remote part of the Indian Ocean, though no trace of the plane has yet been found.

Separately, the Federal Aviation Administration urged US-registered planes to avoid flying over eastern Ukraine “due to recent events and the potential for continued hazardous activities.”

The notice followed an April FAA ban on flights over the Crimean Peninsula annexed by Russia and adjacent zones of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.

Obama was on the road in Delaware and New York for political events, but addressed the shooting down of the aircraft briefly, as details were still emerging.

“And as a country, our thoughts and prayers are with all the families of the passengers, wherever they call home,” Obama said in Wilmington, Delaware.

After arriving in New York, Obama spoke by phone with Secretary of State John Kerry about the aftermath of the disaster.

He then convened a secure call with members of his national security team, including White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, CIA Director John Brennan and other key intelligence and foreign policy aides. ―


Source: AFP

‘They shouldn’t be f**king flying here’

KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 — The following is a transcript of conversations allegedly between Russian military intelligence and Ukrainian separatists that were intercepted by Ukraine’s spy agency in the moments after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down.

Authorities have yet to verify what brought down the Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur flight with 298 on board, but suspicion is focusing on the pro-Russian separatists who are believed to have fired an air-defence missile at the civilian airliner after mistaking it for a military transporter.

The first exchange is between one Igor Bezler, identified as Russian intelligence, and Vasili Geranin, a colonel in the Russian Federation separatist force.

Bezler: We have just shot down a plane. Group Minera. It fell down beyond Yenakievo (Donetsk Oblast).

Vasili Geranin: Pilots. Where are the pilots?

Bezler: Gone to search for and photograph the plane. It’s smoking.

Geranin: How many minutes ago?

Bezler: About 30 minutes ago.

This is followed by a subsequent conversation between two separatist rebels identified by Ukrainian intelligence as “Grek” and “Major”, believed to be after an inspection of the crash site.

“Major”: These are Chernukhin folks who shot down the plane. From the Chernukhin check point. Those Cossacks who are based in Chernukhino.

“Grek”: Yes, Major.

"Major": The plane fell apart in the air. In the area of Petropavlovskaya mine. The first “200” (code for dead bodies). We have found the first “200”. A Civilian.

“Greek”: Well, what do you have there?

“Major”: In short, it was 100 per cent a passenger (civilian) aircraft.

“Greek”: Are many people there?

“Major”: Holy sh__t! The debris fell right into the yards (of homes).

“Greek”: What kind of aircraft?

“Major”: I haven’t ascertained this. I haven’t been to the main sight. I am only surveying the scene where the first bodies fell. There are the remains of internal brackets, seats and bodies.

“Greek”: Is there anything left of the weapon?

“Major”: Absolutely nothing. Civilian items, medical items, towels, toilet paper.

“Greek”: Are there documents?

“Major”: Yes, of one Indonesian student. From a university in Thompson.

A third conversation is of an unidentified rebel and Cossack commander Nikolay Kozitsin.

Rebel: Regarding the plane shot down in the area of Snizhne-Torez. It’s a civilian one. Fell down near Grabove. 

There are lots of corpses of women and children. The Cossacks are out there looking at all this.
They say on TV it’s AN-26 transport plane, but they say it’s written Malaysia Airlines on the plane. What was it doing on Ukraine’s territory?

Kozitsin: That means they were carrying spies. They shouldn’t be f*cking flying here. There is a war going on.

MH17 was believed to have been shot down over eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian militants yesterday, killing all 298 people aboard, a Ukrainian interior ministry official said.

MAS said air traffic controllers lost contact with MH17 as it flew over eastern Ukraine towards the Russian border, bound for Asia with 283 passengers and 15 crew aboard.

MAS earlier maintained that the plane’s flight path over the restive area had been green-lighted by International Civil Aviation Organisation and International Air Transportation Association.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak earlier called the incident as a “tragic day in a tragic year for Malaysians”, in reference to the loss of another MAS plane, the still-missing MH370, that disappeared on March 8 with 239 on board.



Source : http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/they-shouldnt-be-fking-flying-here

Now, could it have been a Russian-made missile?

MH17 As Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists blame each other for the crash of MH17 Boeing 777, a sophisticated missile system has been brought into the public limelight – the Russian-made 9K37 Buk.

Confirmation that a missile was involved will only come if someone admits firing one, or if crash investigators find shrapnel and other tell-tale signs on the aircraft debris and the bodies recovered.

Nevertheless, the use of a missile was raised soon after the MH17 disaster by a Ukrainian Interior Ministry official who said pro-Russian forces had used the missile to bring down the plane.

However, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic has denied having missiles in its possession.

A medium-range surface-to-air missile such as Buk is necessary to bring down an aircraft at a cruising altitude as shoulder-fired missiles (called Manpads, or Man-Portable Air Defence System), favoured by insurgents worldwide for their portability, lack the range needed.

Manpads can only threaten an aircraft during take-off and landing, when it is flying relatively low and slow. The earliest version of the Buk missile has a maximum engagement altitude of 14 kilometres. The MH17 was reportedly flying at about 33,000 feet (9.5 kilometres) high.

Airspace MH17 was in was deemed 'open'

According to a report in British newspaper The Guardian, the Ukrainian authorities had banned flights at 32,000 feet and below in the area where MH17 crashed at the time of the incident, and the airspace it was flying was deemed “open”. That airspace in eastern Ukraine is now closed to all civilian air traffic.

The radar-guided missile weighs just over half-a-tonne and is typically launched from the top of an armoured vehicle or a ship.

Various versions of the missile, carrying nicknames such as “Grizzly” and “Gadfly”, have been fielded since 1979 in Russia, Ukraine, China and other countries.

It had seen combat on both sides of the 2008 South Ossetia war between Russia and Georgia, during which defence analysts noted the Russian Air Force had taken heavy casualties and could not develop a counter-measure against a missile system it created.

However, the question remains: If a missile brought down the MH17, who fired it?

“It's a very capable system, proven under real-world conditions,”Foreign Policymagazine quoted a political risk consultancy Wikistrat researcher as saying, while noting that the system is difficult to use.

“These systems require a large amount of technical know-how, unlike these Manpads, which are basically ‘point-and-shoot’,” the researcher said.

Foreign Policy also reported that Ukraine has such missiles in its possession. However despite denials, so does Donetsk, which is said to have a missile system similar to Buk.

Donetsk had acquired Buk missiles, says report

The magazine quoted Russian newswire Itar-Tass as reporting on June 29 that Donetsk had acquired Buk missiles, and said the group had even bragged about its acquisition on Twitter.

The posting, also dated June 29, has since been removed and can only be viewed via Google’s cache.

“An Associated Pressreporter spotted what was described as ‘a launcher similar to the Buk missile system’ near the town of Snizhne.

“On Thursday, a Twitter account associated with Maidan protest movement in Kiev posted a photograph purporting to show a Buk launcher in the town of Torez, which is near the crash site and has been the scene of fighting between separatist and government forces,” the report added.

The report also noted that while Ukraine does have Buk missiles near the crash site, these missiles in the region were only used against Ukrainian government aircraft.

Meanwhile, Polish editor Michal Potocki, who had been studying the conflict in Ukraine, agreed that the separatist group is responsible for shooting down the Malaysian airliner.

“It cannot be the Ukrainian side - they do not need to use surface-to-air missiles as the separatists do not have airplanes as for now. It was probably a missile system called Buk,” Potocki toldMalaysiakini in an email today.

He also pointed out that just before news broke that MH17 had crashed, separatist leader, Igor Strelkov, posted on a Russian social media site that two supposedly Ukrainian aircraft had been shot down, saying that they were “an Antonov and probably a Sukhoi”.

“Only after we got the news that it was Boeing - the separatists started to blame the Ukrainian side,” Strelkov said.

MH17 had been using a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft for the Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur flight, which is the same model used for flight MH370 that went missing on March 8.



Source :http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/269149

Confusion at KLIA as MH17 families demand crash details -

SEPANG, July 18 — Families of those aboard Flight MH17, which is believed to have crashed in Ukraine, have begun streaming into the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and are demanding that Malaysia Airlines (MAS) quickly release information on the ill-fated jetliner.

But as details on how the plane had gone down are still sketchy, they were met with more uncertainty and confusion.

At least six families have arrived at the Anjung Tinjau viewing area in KLIA upon hearing about the plane crash via social media.

“Reason comes later, please tell us who is on that plane and if they survived, first ,” said a family friend of a passenger traveling back with her Dutch partner from Amsterdam.

The airport security has declined the families here entry into Anjung Tinjau as the flight manifest has not been issued.

“My wife and my two-year-old are traveling back from Amsterdam and that’s their flight,” another man of Indian descent, who requested anonymity.

“You call this an international airport? Even Facebook is more efficient than MAS. We have been waiting here since 12.30am,” said a brother of a passenger on the aircraft, who also declined to offer his name.

Police personnel guarding the area then had to call for calm as the more of the families began demanding for the flight manifest.

“Please calm down. We understand how you feel but the boss is on the way,” said a policeman to the incensed families.

When they were told that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is currently being briefed on the incident and will possibly make the announcement, the family friend of a passenger shot back:

”What is the prime minister going to do? Fly there and call for world peace?

”MAS is becoming a laughing stock... it’s been four hours,” retorted the brother of another passenger, before he was ushered away from the media.

The airport security has declined the families here entry into Anjung Tinjau as the flight manifest has not been issued.

“My wife and my two-year-old are traveling back from Amsterdam and that’s their flight,” said another man of Indian descent, who requested anonymity.

MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian militants yesterday, killing all 295 people aboard, a Ukrainian interior ministry official said.

MAS said air traffic controllers lost contact with MH17 as it flew over eastern Ukraine towards the Russian border, bound for Asia with 280 passengers and 15 crew aboard.

Flight tracking data indicated it was at its cruising altitude of 10 km when it disappeared.


Source : http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/confusion-at-klia-as-mh17-families-demand-crash-details

Full Text Of Najib's Statement On MAS Flight MH17 Tragedy

SEPANG, July 18 (Bernama) -- Following is the full text of the statement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak issued at a press conference at the Sama-Sama Hotel on the tragedy that befell Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17:

"Yesterday evening, I was informed of the terrible and deeply shocking news that a Malaysia Airlines jet went down in eastern Ukraine.

"Malaysia Airlines has confirmed that the jet was Malaysia Airlines flight 17, which was on a scheduled flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

"The flight departed Amsterdam at 12.15 pm, local time. It was scheduled to arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 6.10 am, local, Malaysian time.

"The aircraft was a Boeing 777-200".

"The aircraft's flight route was declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

"And the International Air Transportation Association has stated that the airspace the aircraft was traversing was not subject to restrictions.

"Malaysia Airlines has confirmed that the aircraft did not make a distress call.

"The flight was carrying a total number of 295 people - comprising 280 passengers and 15 crew members.

"Malaysia Airlines is in the process of notifying the next-of-kin of the passengers and crew. All possible care will be provided to the next-of-kin.

"The Government of Malaysia is dispatching a special flight to Kiev, carrying a Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team, as well as a medical team.

"According to information provided by Kiev Air Traffic Control, the location of the plane's emergency locator beacon is 48 degrees 7 minutes and 23 seconds North and 38 degrees 31 minutes and 33 seconds East.

"The Ukrainian authorities believe that the plane was shot down.

"At this early stage, however, Malaysia is unable to verify the cause of this tragedy.

"But we must - and we will - find out precisely what happened to this flight.

"No stone can be left unturned.

"If it transpires that the plane was indeed shot down, we insist that the perpetrators must swiftly be brought to justice.

"Emergency operations centres have been established. In the last few hours, Malaysian officials have been in constant contact with their counterparts in Ukraine and elsewhere.

Twitter erupts at Obama’s ‘casual speech’ on flight MH17 -

US President Barack Obama’s casual reference yesterday about the deaths of 298 passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines MH17 has earned him flak from social media users, The Daily Mail reported.

No Americans have been confirmed dead, while an earlier Reuters report said it was feared that as many as 23 US citizens had perished.

The British tabloid reported that Obama said in Wilmington, Delaware, that “it looks like it may be a terrible tragedy”, but not before enthusiastically declaring that “it is wonderful to be back in Delaware”.

It also reported that the president also acknowledged the presence of treasury secretary Jack Lew with a joke.


Obama’s approach enraged social media users, with many expressing their disappointment on Twitter.
Former CNN host Piers Morgan tweeted: “President Obama massively dropped the ball just now.

“23 Americans killed and he says ‘it looks like a terrible tragedy’ then back to jokes?”

Pop singer Josh Groban tweeted: “I agree. Bad prep. I was shocked.”

Daniel Hannan, a British politician, tweeted; “Listening to Obama's statement [on] the airline tragedy, my mind went back to Reagan 31 years ago.

“How America's leaders have shrunk.”

Meanwhile, AFP reported that the White House warned yesterday that evidence from the Malaysian airliner shot down over Ukraine must not be moved from the country until a "thorough and transparent" investigation has taken place.

Obama and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko agreed in a telephone call on the need to prevent tampering with debris from the Boeing 777 jet that crashed in rebel-held eastern Ukraine after apparently being hit by a surface-to-air missile.

He also assured Poroshenko that US experts will "offer all possible assistance immediately" to investigate what caused the plane to plunge from the sky with its 298 passengers. –


Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/twitter-erupts-at-obamas-casual-speech-on-flight-mh17#sthash.XhcdH61t.dpuf

The list of the passengers and crew

PETALING JAYA: All flights to and from Europe operated by Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will take alternative routes to avoid the usual path where flight MH17 went down in eastern Ukraine, said MAS in a media statement Friday.

MAS flight MH17, which was on a scheduled flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, went down in eastern Ukraine.

“The usual flight route was earlier declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. The International Air Transportation Association also stated that the airspace the aircraft was traversing was not subject to restrictions,” said MAS.

Malaysia Airlines have confirmed that the aircraft did not make any distress call.

As opposed to an earlier statement, the airline confirmed that MH17 was carrying a total number of 298 people – 283 passengers, including three infants of various nationalities, and 15 Malaysian crew members. Some of the nationalities of the passengers are yet to be determined.

The list of the passengers and crew according to nationality are as follows:

• Netherlands 154
• Malaysia (45 – including 15 crew and two infants)
• Australia (27)
• Indonesia (12 – including one infant)
• United Kingdom (9)
• Germany (4)
• Belgium (4)
• Philippines (3)
• Canada (1)
• Unverified  (41)

Source - Agencies

Ukraine accuses Russian officers over crash

Ukraine's state security chief accused two Russian military intelligence officers of involvement with pro-Russian rebels in the downing of a Malaysian airliner on Thursday, releasing chilling testimony of what he called an "inhuman crime."

SBU chief Valentyn Nalivaychenko based his allegation on intercepted telephone conversations between the two officers and pro-Russian fighters, one of whom referred to seeing "a sea of women and children" in the wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777.

"We will do everything for the Russian military who carried out this crime to be punished," Nalivaychenko told journalists, who were shown video and audio transcripts of the recordings.

"The terrorists will not go on dancing on corpses."

In a recording played to journalists of a conversation said to have taken place at 4.33pm Kiev time (13:33 GMT), a rebel fighter going by the nom de guerre of 'Major' is heard telling another comrade called 'Grek' that a group of fighters had brought the airliner down.

"The plane broke up in the air, near the Petropavlovskaya mines. The first (casualty) has been found. It was a woman. A civilian," he says.

At 5.42pm 'Major' acknowledges the plane was civilian:

"Hell. It's almost 100 percent certain that it's a civilian plane."

Asked if there were many people on board, he replies in the affirmative with a swear-word, adding: "The bits (of the plane) were falling down in the streets ... There were the bits of couches, chairs, bodies."

Asked if any weapons were found on board, 'Major' says: "No - Civilian things, medical things, towels, toilet paper."

He says ID documents of an Indonesian student had been found.

In another recording of an intercept, played to journalists, a Russian (military intelligence officer) called Igor Bezler is heard reporting on the downing to his superior in Russian military intelligence, Colonel Vasily Geranin.

"A plane has just been shot down. It was the 'Mine-laying' group ... They've gone to search and photograph the plane. It is smoking," Bezler tells Gernanin at 4.40pm.

Asked 'How long ago?' he replies: 'About 30 minutes ago.'

In a third conversation, a rebel fighter says: "It turned out to be a passenger plane. It fell in Hrabove area. There's a sea of women and children ..."

He adds: "But what was it (the Malaysian airlines flight) doing over Ukraine?"

The man he is talking to replies: "That means they've called up spies. No way to flights. This is war"

"Okay, understood," he replies.

"They discuss Russian saboteurs bringing down a passenger plane. They discuss the number of victims. We have fixed this conversation as taking place at 4.20. Now you know who carried out this inhuman crime against humanity," Nalivaychenko said.

"We will open up to all possible channels, the means of this crime being objectively investigated, and the officers of the Russian Federation who carried out this crime being punished."



Source - Reuters

World leaders demand UN probe into downed MH17 plane

PARIS, July 17 ― World leaders yesterday demanded an international investigation into the downing of a Malaysian airliner, which crashed yesterday with 298 people on board in strife-torn east Ukraine.

Britain has called for an UN-led investigation and is seeking an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the crisis in Ukraine's rebel-held east ― which NATO described as “more and more dangerous”.

“We believe that there must be a UN-led, international investigation of the facts,” Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told a press conference yesterday.

US officials believe the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, while comments attributed to a pro-Russia rebel chief suggested his men may have downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 by mistake, believing it was a Ukrainian army transport plane.

“The facts of what happened and who was responsible must be quickly established,” the presidents of the European Council and Commission, Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy, said in a joint statement.

“The inquiry must be rapid and complete.”

UN chief Ban Ki-Moon echoed calls for a “full, transparent and international investigation”.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said those guilty of bringing down the airliner must be brought to justice.

“This is another painful illustration of the reason why it is so urgent to end this conflict.

The instability in the region caused by the separatists supported by Russia is creating a more and more dangerous situation,” he added.

Malaysia dispatched a team of investigators to find out what happened to flight MH17, and Prime Minister Najib Razak said he had spoken to Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko who had vowed a “full, thorough and independent” probe.

President Barack Obama called the crash “a terrible tragedy” and said he has asked his national security team to “stay in close contact with the Ukrainian government”.

“The United States will offer any assistance we can to help determine what happened and why.”

US Vice President Joe Biden repeated Washington's offer during a phone call to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, a US official said.

Ukraine 'bears responsibility'

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had also asked Russian military chiefs to “provide all necessary help to shed light on this criminal act”.

But he also put responsibility for the disaster squarely on Ukraine.

“There is no doubt that the country on whose territory this terrible tragedy happened bears responsibility,” said Putin, quoted by Ria Novosti news agency.

“This tragedy would not have happened if there was peace in the country, if military operations had not resumed in the south-east of Ukraine,” he said.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called on “all parties in the region to allow full access to the (crash) site.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron said government officials were meeting “to establish the facts”.
He tweeted: “I'm shocked and saddened by the Malaysian air disaster.”

French President Francois Hollande offered “all my solidarity” with relatives of the crash victims, and echoed calls for a wide-ranging investigation.

Germany also demanded that “everything be done to shed light on this disaster as quickly as possible”.

Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 disappeared from radar screens in eastern Ukraine at around 1415 GMT, the carrier said, hours after the Boeing 777, bound for Kuala Lumpur, had taken off from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

About half of the 298 on board were Dutch nationals, while about 50 others remained unidentified.

― AFP

Najib wants 'swift justice' against perpetrators

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has demanded for "swift justice" if Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down in Ukraine.

However, he said Malaysia has yet to confirm Ukraine's claim that Russian-backed separatists shot down the aircraft.

"At this stage, Malaysia is unable to verify the cause of this tragedy. But we must and we will find out precisely what happened to this flight.

"No stone will be left unturned. If it transpires that the plane was indeed shot down, we insist that the perpetrators must be swiftly brought to justice," he told a press conference at Sama-Sama Hotel, Sepang.

During his seven-minute press conference, Najib revealed that he spoke to US President Barack Obama, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko and Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

"I received a call from President Obama. He and I both agreed that the investigation must not be hindered in any way.

"An international team must have full access to the crash site and no one should interfere with the area or move any debris including the black boxes," he said.

Najib said Poroshenko has assured an independent investigation and will negotiate with the rebel forces to establish a "humanitarian corridor" to the crash site in Eastern Ukraine.

He said MAS confirmed that Flight MH17 did not make any distress call when it went down.

"The aircraft flight route was declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the International Aviation Transportation Association stated the airspace the aircraft traversed was not subject to restrictions," he added.

'A tragic year for Malaysia'

Najib said the Boeing 777-200 emergency locater beacon is located at 48̊ 07' 23", 38̊ 31' 33", according to Kiev's air traffic control.

According to Google Maps, the coordinate is near the city of Krasnyi Luch in the Luhansk Oblast province in south-eastern Ukraine.

"This is a tragic day in what has already been a tragic year for Malaysia.  

"As we work to understand what happened, our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those on board the flight," said the prime minister.

"I cannot imagine what they must be going through at this painful time.

"The flight passengers and crew came from many different countries but today, regardless of nationality, we are all united in grief," he added.

The downing of Flight MH17 comes just slightly more than four months after Flight MH370 went missing.

Najib, who appeared sombre, was flanked by Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, Foreign Affairs Minister Anifah Aman, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Wee Ka Siong and Deputy Transport Minister Aziz Kaprawi.

Newly-minted Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai is on his way back from Beijing and is expected to hold a press conference at 9am.

Najib said Putrajaya is deploying a special disaster team and a medical team to Kiev while MAS is in the process of notifying the families of those on board the aircraft.

Flight MH17 was carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew members and was due to arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 6.10am after taking off at 12.15am from Amsterdam.




Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/269117

MAS plane downed in war zone, 295 dead

MH17 A Malaysian airliner was brought down over eastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing all 295 people aboard and sharply raising stakes in a conflict between Kiev and pro-Moscow rebels in which Russia and the West back opposing sides.

Ukraine accused "terrorists" - militants fighting to unite eastern Ukraine with Russia - of shooting down the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with a heavy, Soviet-era ground-to-air missile as it flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

Leaders of rebels in the Donetsk People's Republic denied any involvement, although around the same time their military commander said his forces had downed a much smaller Ukrainian transport plane - their third such kill this week.

Reuters journalists saw burning and charred wreckage bearing the red and blue Malaysia insignia and dozens of bodies strewn in fields near the village of Grabovo, 40km from the Russian border near the rebel-held regional capital of Donetsk.

The scale of the disaster affecting scores of foreigners could prove a turning point for international pressure to resolve a crisis that has claimed hundreds of lives in Ukraine since pro-Western protests toppled the Moscow-backed president in Kiev in February and Russia annexed Crimea a month later.

As word came in of what Ukraine's Western-backed president called a "terrorist attack", the Russian and US leaders, Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama, were discussing a new round of economic sanctions that Washington and its EU partners imposed on Moscow on Wednesday to try to force Putin to do more to curb the revolt against the Western-backed government in Kiev.

They noted the early reports during their telephone call, the White House said, adding that Obama warned of further sanctions if Moscow did not change course in Ukraine.

Wreckage, bodies

Malaysia Airlines said air traffic controllers lost contact with flight MH-17 at 1415 GMT as it flew over eastern Ukraine towards the Russian border, bound for Asia with 280 passengers and 15 crew aboard. Flight tracking data indicated it was at its cruising altitude of 33,000 feet when it disappeared.

"I was working in the field on my tractor when I heard the sound of a plane and then a bang," one local man at Grabovo told Reuters. "Then I saw the plane hit the ground and break in two. There was thick black smoke."

An emergency worker said at least 100 bodies had been found so far and that debris was spread over 15km. Workers were scouring the area for the black box flight recorders.

"MH-17 is not an incident or catastrophe, it is a terrorist attack," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko tweeted. He has stepped up his military campaign against the rebels since a ceasefire late last month failed to produce any negotiations.

Russia, which Western powers accuse of trying to destabilise Ukraine to maintain influence over its old Soviet empire, has accused Kiev's leaders of mounting a fascist coup. It says it is holding troops in readiness to protect Russian-speakers in the east - the same rationale it used for taking over Crimea.

Ukrainian Interior Ministry official Anton Gerashchenko said on Facebook: "Just now, over Torez, terrorists using a Buk anti-aircraft system kindly given to them by Putin have shot down a civilian airliner flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur."

"There is no limit to the cynicism of Putin and his terrorists!" he wrote on the social media site. "Europe, USA, Canada, the civilised world, open your eyes! Help us in any way you can! This is a war of good against evil!"

Rebel accusation

A rebel leader said Ukrainian forces shot the airliner down and that rebel forces did not have weaponry capable of hitting a plane flying 10km up. Ukrainian officials said their military was not involved in the incident.

The military commander of the rebels, a Russian named Igor Strelkov, had written on his social media page at 1337 GMT, half an hour before the last reported contact with MH17, that his forces had brought down an Antonov An-26 in the same area. It is a turboprop transport plane of a type used by Ukraine's forces.

There was no comment on that from the Ukrainian military.

Several Ukrainian planes and helicopters have been shot down in four months of fighting in the area. Ukraine had said an An-26 was shot down on Monday and one of its Sukhoi Su-25 fighters was downed on Wednesday by an air-to-air missile - Kiev's strongest accusation yet of direct Russian involvement, since the rebels do not appear to have access to aircraft.

Moscow has denied its forces are involved in any way.

The loss of MH17 is the second disaster for Malaysia Airlines this year, following the mysterious loss of flight MH370. It disappeared in March with 239 passengers and crew on board on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

In 2001, Ukraine admitted its military was probably responsible for shooting down a Russian airliner that crashed into the Black Sea, killing all 78 people on board. A senior Ukrainian official said it had most likely been downed by an accidental hit from an S-200 rocket fired during exercises.

In 1983, a Soviet jet fighter shot down a South Korean airliner after it veered off course into Russian air space and failed to respond to attempts to make contact. All 269 passengers and crew were killed.

In 1988, the US warship Vincennes shot down an Iranian airliner over the Gulf, killing all 290 passengers and crew, in what the United States said was an accident after crew mistook the plane for a fighter. Teheran called it a deliberate attack.




Source- Reuters