Najib used hush-hush diplomacy to seal MH17 deal with rebels, says SMH
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak used "secret diplomacy" with pro-Russian rebels to reach an agreement to retrieve the bodies and black boxes from the Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash, the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported today. While other world leaders blamed the separatists for their alleged hand in Thursday's crash, Najib had...
Instead, it said, Najib negotiated with rebel leader Alexander Borodai and sealed a deal "that achieved what more powerful nations, including Russia, could not".
Through the agreement, the black boxes from MH17 were handed over to Malaysian officials today following a two-hour meeting between the delegation and Borodoi at the headquarters of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.
The black boxes could provide clues into the last moments of the Boeing 777-200 before it was shot down in eastern Ukraine, an area controlled by the pro-Russian rebels.
Najib also said last night the 282 bodies recovered from the crash site in the war-torn region of Dotensk would be flownin a Dutch C-130 Hercules with Malaysian representatives to the Netherlands for identification.
In the agreement, the Ukrainians had guaranteed international investigators safe access to the crash.
SMH reported that Najib had received flak in Malaysia for not blaming the separatists, as anger mounted across the country over the handling of the bodies,43 of whom were Malaysians.
Bodies of the dead passengers were reported to have begun decomposing in the summer heat, as an under-equipped emergency crew worked at the scene under the watchful eyes of the rebels.
But unknown to Malaysians, Najib had been in the midst of negotiating an agreement with Borodoi, who was believed to have said he would only hand over the bodies and black boxes to Malaysia.‎
Several Malaysian ministers, including Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, have been in Kiev helping to negotiate the agreement key to allowing investigations into the crash to begin properly.
“In recent days, there were times I wanted to give greater voice to the anger and grief that the Malaysian people feel,” Najib said in a late night live broadcast over state television.
"But sometimes we must work quietly in the service of a better outcome.”
He said the agreement would depend on work and good faith by the separatists but added they have “so far given their co-operation".
"I ask that all the parties continue to work together to ensure that this agreement is honoured, and that the remains of our people are returned, the black box is handed over, and the international team is granted full access to the site.
"Only then can the investigation into MH17 truly begin. Only then can the victims be afforded the respect they deserve," said Najib last night.
He vowed to bring the Malaysian bodies home by next week, the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. In Islam, the dead are supposed to be buried within 24 hours.‎
Malaysia has been reeling from the downing of flight MH17, as it comes just four months after flight MH370's mysterious disappearance in March.
Malaysia has been reeling from the downing of flight MH17, as it comes just four months after flight MH370's mysterious disappearance in March.
A total of 537 lives have been lost from the two tragedies, the highest casualty toll from any airliner in such a short time span.
Malaysian officials were also forced to refute accusations that Malaysia Airlines should not have taken such a risky route and pointed out that the flight path had been declared safe.
Those responsible for downing the jet on Thursday have yet to be identified, with Russian and Ukrainian authorities blaming each other and pro-Russian separatists for the disaster.
“For four days, the international outrage over the shooting down of a civilian airliner with 298 passengers and crew members on board had been further incensed and aggravated by the gruesome and insensitive disrespect shown to the remains of the MH 17 victims as well as the looting and contamination of the crash site,” DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang (pic, right) said in a statement today.
“Malaysians must remain united over the MH 17 disaster and continue to give full backing to the prime minister and the government to demand swift justice against those who blew the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 jet,” Lim added.
Tomorrow, Parliament will hold an emergency session to condemn the downing of MH17. – July 22, 2014.
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