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