MALAYSIANS:WE WILL BE DOOMED AS A NATION ...

By Azly Rahman,

if we do not come together, look at ourselves, where we came from as a people, what we have become, and where we want to go ...

within the last few years we have been experiencing unusual phenomena pointing out to social, political, and religious turmoil -- all these exacerbated and sped up and even made viral by high-speed cybernetic technologies. ... these phenomena takes on a truly global and globalizing character, thrusting this one "pastoral, peaceful, and pristine" nation into the world arena of both fame and infamy.

from mystery to tragedy .. this is the theme where are at at now in the two incidences of the Malaysian Airlines we are still grappling with, as a nation new to problems of such magnitude. within six months we not only lost planes by we are plunged into socio-emotional chaos of untold proportion, as if they are capstones of the never-ending corruption, bigotry, power-abuse, mismanagement, and the inability to enculturalize systems meant to make our living safer and saner.

as a student of existentialism, cybernetics, the the nation-state -- a topic that inspired my doctoral studies, i feel that the internet, as a tool of social engagement and cultural change is pervasive. it can bring us together or rip us apart, it can build a nation or destroy it, and it can educate for peace or incite violence on a massive scale.

it is a frankenstein in post-modern times.

i had hypothesized that the installatiom of or Multimedia Super Corridor, the birth of Cyberjaya, and the rise our own networked society and the "democratization of the post-industrialzied digital and globally-networked tool of social engagement" will alter the fundamental character of the "nation-state" such as Malaysia. i had that thought in the early 2000. i am stil "observing" what the internet will continue to do and what will be the cognitive and emotional consequences of the nurturing of this post-modern prometheus.

as a nation, we perhaps become more informed, more able to learn from the boundless wasteland of cybespace, and perhaps more able to see where we are going as nation.

but with any technology, and as it becomes enculturalized and become us and even as it tells us how to live, think, as well as to continue to be and become as a human being, we are confronted by all the contradictions of what it means; confronted by the disabling or even deconstrcuting and destructing aspects of our creation. that frankenstein we are no loner able to bring back home.

we are at a critical juncture -- how do we stop and think how to use technology, especially this mediium i am using. do we see its value and utilty from the point of view of ethics or do we become a child overly excited of the freedom it accords and use it without understanding what "creativity and altruism" means? do we use it to spread falsehood and half-truths and to destroy others -- or do we use it as a tool to educate and to educate for peace based on the crafting of knowledge and the sharing of information that will elevate human dignity and help reduce the suffering of others?

of course, like many, i am a believer in the internet as a tool to make others aware of the injustices the powerful amongst us inflict onto the powerless, of the hideousness of capitalist formation and the evolution of the sophisticatedness of the modern class system, of the rise of religious fundamentalism that is leading towards the "struggle to eatsablish" this or that theocratic state through violence, and as tool to make children smarter by having smarter shools. these are the elements of what this frankenstein of ours can do.

in a time of chaos ... we ought to think how to use this medium. my emotions these past 24 hours have been quite "fried". i have been overwhelmed by images of horror derived and drawn from the two horrifying events unfolding: the israeli incursion into gaza and the massacre of innocent people in response to the diablic work of hamas and the massacre of innoent people as well, and in the case of the instantaneous destruction of Malaysian Airline MH17 with all on board reportedly dead.

the images, especially of dead bodies strewn into pieces and of children dying and dead in such horrible conditions, became too much for me. they are meant to make a point of the war: the crime against humanity but they have come to me too much to be cognitively and semotically ingested. many of them ought not to be posted and passed around.

use the internet responsibly. educate and not arravate to annihilate. use it to build this nation and not to celebrate bigotry and racism.

but at this moment in the most difficult time we are facing as a nation .... we need to look at ourseleves and look at this social media too we have in our hands and ask this question: will this help globalize and multiply hatred ... or will this spread love and goodwill ... ?

LET US WORK TOGETHER ON A COMMON GROUND for the COMMON GOOD. and let us pray for the ending of the violence destroying both the people of Gaza ... and the children of Israel.

MH17: Najib's first press conference

MH17: Msia send 149 strong special team to Ukraine

Malaysian ex-mufti: Hitler “might have been right” in exterminating Jews

his kind of talk is becoming increasingly open and common. “Palestinian” victimhood propaganda has made Jew-hatred newly respectable, and the rise of Islam in the West has directed new opprobium toward those whom the Qur’an designates as the worst enemies of the Muslims (5:82).
“Hitler might have been right, says ex-mufti,” Malaysia Today, July 15, 2014 (thanks to Tom):

(Malay Mail Online) – Popular religious scholar Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin has waded into the Adolf Hitler controversy today, writing in an opinion piece that the Nazi dictator “might have been right” in exterminating the Jews.

Despite admitting that not all Jews are bad, the former Perlis mufti insisted that Jews in general have a bad record, as proven by their many trickeries and betrayals, including against Prophet Muhammad.

“We are not anti-certain races, or blindly anti-Semitic like Hitler or previous Europeans. But if we see the betrayals and wicked acts of the Israeli Jews, those are not a new or odd thing for them.

“There might be truth behind Hitler’s belief,” said Mohd Asri in his article on news portal Astro Awani.
Mohd Asri claimed that Hitler’s rhetoric against the Jews and move to exterminate the community were widely-supported at that time by the German public.

He also claimed that Hitler was not first to believe that the Jews were “destructive”, listing down German Protestant leader Martin Luther, the Spanish, the Portuguese, and the Catholic church as others who mistreated the Jews.

“Why did the Europeans unite in believing that the Jews were an evil race? The answer, is whether the belief was superstitious, or it was based on their experiences with the Jews,” suggested Mohd Asri.

“If the answer is the first, then the Jews were truly a persecuted race.

“[But] if the answer is the Jews had historically destroyed human lives until the Europeans feared them, then the cruel and brutal acts of Hitler had indirectly reduced the harm that the Jews pose to Europeans and the rest of the world, even if they were cruel and unacceptable.”

He claimed that the Christian Churches have long had their suspicion of Jews, which however ended with the establishment of anti-Semitic laws which granted the Jews “invincibility”.

Mohd Asri also listed down the times that Jews had betrayed the Prophet Muhammad, which finally led to them being exiled after plotting to overthrow Muhammad’s rule.

However, the scholar insisted that Islam does not declare wholesale that all Jews are evil, saying that one of Muhammad’s wives was a Jew, while one of his companions, Abd Allah Salam, was also a Jew who converted into Islam.

“Generally, the Jews have a bad record. But this does not deny the possibility that there are good people among the Jews. But the record of the Jews generally, is of course bad,” said Mohd Asri….

Jihadists stone Syria woman to death for 'adultery'

Agence France Presse

BEIRUT: Jihadists in the northern Syrian province of Raqqa have accused a woman of adultery and stoned her to death, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday.

It was the first "execution" of its kind by the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) group in Syria, which has proclaimed the establishment of an Islamic "caliphate" straddling Syria and Iraq.

"ISIS carried out its first sentence of death by stoning against a woman in Tabaqa, accusing her of adultery," said the Britain-based Observatory, referring to a town in Raqa province, most of which is under ISIS control.

An activist in the province confirmed the report, and said the stoning took place in a public square in the Tabaqa market area Thursday evening.

"This is the first time that this has happened here," added Abu Ibrahim.

A second activist in Raqa, Hadi Salameh, said the woman was reportedly in her thirties, but that few details were known about her except that she was killed after sentencing by an ISIS religious court.

"The situation is unbearable. Stoning is the worst punishment history has known. A quick death is more merciful," Salameh told AFP via the Internet, using a pseudonym for security reasons.

"The woman's family did not know the sentence was going to be carried out at this time," said Salameh.

He said residents are "terrified" of ISIS, but fear the consequences of reacting to its harsh methods.

ISIS first emerged in the Syrian conflict in late spring last year.

Some Syrian rebels initially welcomed the jihadists, seeing them as potential allies in their war to topple President Bashar Assad's regime.

But the group's systematic abuses and quest for domination swiftly turned the mainstream opposition against it, and rebels have been battling ISIS fighters since January.

ISIS spearheaded a recent offensive in Iraq, capturing large swath of territory and massive amounts of weapons from fleeing Iraqi troops.

Did this man fire the missile at MH17?

The prime suspect behind the MH17 tragedy is the self-proclaimed defence minister of the Donetsk People's Republic, Igor Girkin.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the former intelligence officer is known by the name Strelkov - or "shooter" and has even shot his own troops for insubordination.

The spotlight fell on Girkin (left) after he reportedly posted a message on a Russian social media page, which read: "We did warn you - do not fly in our sky."

The post was later removed when it became clear that the plane was a civilian aircraft and not a Ukranian military plane.

The Sydney Morning Herald pointed out that "no amateur can bring down a passenger jet streaking across the sky."

"Don't be lulled into believing any trooper with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher on his shoulder could carry out this attack.

"The professionalism required points to Girkin and his Russian-backed separatists as the most likely suspects.

"They have captured missile batteries mounted on trucks, and are suspected to have been supplied with Russian-made 'needle' portable launchers that can be carried by a man," reads the report.

As Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists blamed 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 commercial airliners 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 (10km) high.

Airspace MH17 was in was deemed 'open'

According to a report in British newspaper The Guardian, the Ukrainian authorities had banned flights at 32,000ft (9.75km) 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, in contrast to Manpads that can be carried and fired by a single person and are designed to attack low-flying aircraft and helicopters.

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 relative to the small Georgian military and could not develop an effective 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 Policy magazine quoted a political risk consultancy Wikistrat researcher Andrew Bowen 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'," Bowen 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 Press reporter 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, deputy editor of the Polish magazine Dziennik 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 told Malaysiakini 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," Potocki 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.

All 295 on board perished in the incident.

 

'Since when sultan's wrath is basis for probe?'

 

Constitutional expert Abdul Aziz Bari has advised the police to be mindful of the law and not to act in a "mechanical" fashion.

"And since when has the sultan's wrath become a reason to investigate?"

"The police should be mindful of the law, apply their mind to the issue at hand. Don't just act mechanically," the vocal academician said in a statement.

Aziz was commenting on the investigations under the Sedition Act against PAS leader Khalid Samad (right), whose remarks regarding the Selangor Islamic Affairs Council (Mais) angered the sultan.

He said the Shah Alam MP had merely suggested amending the law to curb Mais’ executive powers and did not mention the sultan.

"It was others who linked his suggestion with the sultan's position and power. Khalid did not say anything about the sultan.

"What's wrong about making the suggestion? Since when has a suggestion to amend the law pertaining to a corporation like Mais become seditious?" he asked.

Aziz noted that the issue had become a hot topic when the sultan rebuked Khalid on Tuesday for his remarks made almost a month ago.

Yesterday, Khalid apologised to the sultan but at the same time expressed confusion as to which part of his statement had angered the ruler.

The PAS leader is also seeking an audience with the sultan to explain his stand.

Khalid had called for the amendment after Mais refused to return the seized Malay and Iban language copies of the Bible seized from the Bible Society of Malaysia in January this year.

Russian-made missile key suspect in MH17 crash

A Russian-made surface-to-air missile has emerged as the most likely cause of the suspected downing of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine, analysts said today, as claim and counter-claim swirl over who launched the weapon.

The vehicle-mounted "Buk" missile system is capable of soaring to the height of a civilian airliner like Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, unlike more widely available shoulder-launched weapons, defence experts said.

The Ukrainian and Russian military both use the device, but pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine had just hours before the disaster announced that they had seized a number of Buk systems themselves.

"Who has shot it down? There is lots of evidence which shows these were pro-Russian separatists who have done that," Russian defence expert Igor Sutyagin of the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) said.

He cited a Twitter post on Thursday by separatists, later deleted, "when they reported that they had captured precisely that piece of hardware known as Buk".

Originally developed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s, the most modern version of the Buk missile has taken pride of place during recent Russian military parades on Red Square.

It can hit targets flying as high as 22,000m – more than twice the 10,600m MH17 was cruising at – said IHS Jane's Missiles and Rockets editor Doug Richardson.

There are two variants: the Buk-M1 and Buk M2, codenamed by NATO as the SA-11 Gadfly and the SA-17 Grizzly.

The missile is produced by the Russian arms firm Almaz-Antey, recently targeted by US sanctions, at a factory in Ulyanovsk.

Buk missiles are complicated to operate, unlike shoulder-launched weapons, requiring three lorry-sized vehicles – a command post, a radar vehicle, and a launcher with the missiles, analysts said.

The missiles themselves each weigh more than half a tonne and are about the height of two men.

Richardson said the missile system has a "friend or foe" identification system, but could not distinguish a commercial airliner from another unknown plane.

"It would not give you a warning that you were tracking an airliner," he said.

If it was a missile – as Ukraine, the United States and others allege – the question of where it came from and who fired it is key to the crisis.

Ukraine pointed the finger at separatist rebels, and if it was them they could have either captured it from Ukrainian forces, or have had them supplied by Russia, analysts said.

Two Ukrainian military planes were shot down in the weeks before the Malaysian Airlines jet crashed.

"Where does it come from, how have they acquired this kind of weaponry? Is this supplied from Russia? If yes, why is Russia supplying this kind of weaponry?" said Domitilla Sagramoso of the Department of War Studies, King's College London.

A message on the official Twitter account of rebel group the Donetsk People's Republic said on Thursday that insurgents had seized a series of Buk systems from a Ukrainian surface-to-air missile regiment.

Hours later, the group's "defence minster" Igor Strelkov on his local social networking page claimed to have downed what they said was a Ukrainian military transport plane. Both messages were later deleted.

Eliot Higgins, who posts detailed analyses of weapons in Syria and other conflicts on his Brown Moses blog, said he had traced a video of a Buk missile launcher about 12km from the crash site which was posted on Thursday.

"The video was uploaded on July 17th. I've found no other versions of it, and it was on a new YouTube account which was deleted a few hours later," he said in an email.

"Beyond that, there's no other way to confirm the date of the video. It's heading out of an opposition-controlled town, close to the town centre, heading south, which is towards the Russian border."

Jonathan Eyal, International Director at Rusi, said it was "impossible to believe" rebels could have hit their target without radar and other logistical support from the Russian military.

But Russia's defence ministry said Friday that a Ukrainian Buk radar was operating on the day of the crash.

Experts also pointed out the Ukranian forces themselves had accidentally shot down an airliner in a training exercise in 2001, killing 78 people. AFP

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/russian-made-missile-key-suspect-in-mh17-crash#sthash.TOupv05X.dpuf

Steward never returned to taste mum’s cooking

His mother had cooked his favourite dishes but steward Sanjid Singh Sandhu never came home as he was on the ill-fated MH17.

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Steward Sanjid Singh Sandhu, who changed shifts with a colleague at the last minute on the ill-fated MH17 flight, told his family he would be back for lunch today but it was not meant to be.

Jijar Singh, 71, said his son informed him on Tuesday that he had changed shifts with his colleague to go to Amsterdam.

Sanjid, 41, had told his mother Jagjit Kaur, 73, that he would be in for lunch with his wife Tan Bee Geok, 43, and 10-year-old son Hans Singh Sandhu.

“His mother has cooked his favourite dishes,” Jijar told reporters when met at his house in Taman Selamat, Alma here today.

The family received the bad news at 4 a.m. today from their daughter, Sheila Sandhu, 43, who resides in Italy, that MH17 had crashed in Ukraine.

Sanjid was among 15 MAS crew members who perished in the plane, allegedly shot down by a missile, near the village of Grabovo in eastern Ukraine late last night.

“We are shocked and cannot describe our loss because he is our only son. It has happened and we have to bear with it,” said Jijar.

Sanjid joined MAS 16 years ago following in his sister Sheila’s footsteps. Sheila is now married to a foreign national and settled in Europe.

Since joining MAS, Sanjid moved to Kuala Lumpur and visited his parents whenever he was on leave.

“He is a jovial and friendly guy with many friends,” said Jijar, a retiree of the then Lembaga Letrik Negara (LLN), now TNB.

Jijar has a piece of advice for married couples – have more than two children, at least two boys and two girls.

“Don’t suffer like us. We have lost our only son,” said Jijar, who had undergone two heart bypass surgeries.

He recalled that when talking about the disappearance of MH370, Sanjid told him it was all fated.

Jijar remembers the last words to Sanjid when his son was about to depart to Kuala Lumpur last month: “You are my only son and your son is my only grandson. So please take care.”

He said his daughter-in-law was making the funeral arrangements for Sanjid and that she may have to go to Ukraine.

MH17 passenger uploaded Instagram video before take-off

Friend received last video from him, says never expected him to be on the ill-fated flight.

KUALA LUMPUR: Md Ali Md Salim, 30, a Malaysian passenger onboard the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 which crashed in Ukraine near the Russian border, had uploaded a video on his Instagram account while seated in the plane moments before take-off.

The 15-seconds video was uploaded under his account name “@masa1777″ at noon (Amsterdam time), with the caption: “Bismillah…#hatiadasikitgentar” (In the name of Allah…feeling slightly nervous).

The video showed passengers and a MAS stewardess placing their personal items into the overhead baggage compartment and preparing for take-off.

His friend, Mohd Zaem Nordin, 24, who shared the video on his Instagram said that he did not expect Md Ali to be on the ill-fated plane.

“When I saw the video which had been uploaded about 15 hours earlier, I was shocked and did not think that he would be on the plane,” said Zaem when contacted by Bernama today.

Md Ali was pursuing his Psychology Doctorate at a university in Amsterdam and was due to complete his studies next year, said Zaem.

Zaem, who shared Md Ali’s video on Instagram, said that they last contacted one another on June 25 via Facebook.

“We always kept in touch on Facebook and the last time, he said he wanted to come home this year to spend Hari Raya with his family.

“I did not know that his wish would not be fulfilled and that this video is his last,” Zaem said.

The two had been friends since 2010 and Zaem described Md Ali as a “cheerful and caring person who was always concerned about his friends”.

“We first met when he was working as a fellow at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur branch, he was friendly and easy to get along with.”

Flight MH17 left Amsterdam at 12.15pm (Amsterdam time) and was scheduled to arrive at KLIA, Sepang at 6.10am (Malaysia time) today. (Bernama)

‘They shouldn’t be fucking flying here’

(Malay Mail Online) – 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.

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 percent a passenger (civilian) aircraft.

“Greek”: Are many people there?

“Major”: Holy shit! 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 fucking flying here. There is a war going on.

Obama Points to Pro-Russia Separatists in Downing of Malaysia Airlines Plane

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR, SOMINI SENGUPTA and SABRINA TAVERNISE

WASHINGTON — President Obama said Friday that the United States believed the Malaysia Airlines jetliner felled over eastern Ukraine had been shot down by a surface-to-air missile from an area inside Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed separatists. He demanded a prompt international inquiry as signs emerged that separatists were impeding an assessment of the crash site by outside monitors.

Mr. Obama’s remarks at the White House were the strongest public suggestions yet from the United States of who was responsible for the downing of the plane, which exploded, crashed and burned on Thursday on farmland in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people aboard.

Mr. Obama said the loss of life was an “outrage of unspeakable proportions” and a “global tragedy.” He vowed to investigate exactly what had happened to end the lives of “men, women, children, infants who had nothing to do with the crisis” in the region. He also said that at least one American was among the dead.

“We are going to make sure the truth is out,” Mr. Obama said, referring to what he described as a trove of misinformation that had already shrouded the plane crash.

“We don’t have time for propaganda,” he said. “We don’t have time for games.”

The president said the violence in the region must not obstruct an independent investigation of the plane’s destruction, and he called on Russia, Ukraine and the Russian-backed separatists to agree to an immediate cease-fire. “Evidence must not be tampered with,” Mr. Obama said. “Investigators need to access the crash site. And the solemn task of returning those who were lost onboard the plane to their loved ones needs to go forward immediately.”

While separatists guarding the crash site allowed some Ukrainian government rescue teams to enter and begin collecting bodies, they were less cooperative with a team of monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe who wanted to secure a safe route for the investigation and salvaging operations.

Reuters quoted Thomas Greminger, chairman of the O.S.C.E.'s permanent council in Vienna, as saying that armed separatists had prevented the monitors from gaining full access to the site. “In the current circumstances, they were not able to help securing this corridor that would allow access for those that would want to investigate,” he was quoted as saying.

There were reports that some separatists had fired at the monitors, but the O.S.C.E. said in a Twitter message that those claims were untrue.

Mr. Obama spoke after Samantha Power, the American ambassador to the United Nations, told an emergency Security Council meeting on the Ukraine conflict that there was “credible evidence” that pro-Russia separatists and their Russian associates in eastern Ukraine were responsible for the crash.

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 — Flight 17, from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — was at a cruising altitude of 33,000 feet on a commonly used air route over eastern Ukraine when it was struck on Thursday.
Continue reading the main story

Both Russia and the separatist groups deny any responsibility, and some rebel leaders suggest that Ukraine’s armed forces may have shot down the plane. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has implicitly blamed Ukraine’s government, saying it created the conditions for the separatist uprising that has escalated into a major crisis. But Mr. Putin has not denied that a Russian-made weapon may have destroyed the aircraft.

Mr. Obama resisted blaming Mr. Putin personally, saying that the United States did not know who had fired the missile. But he made clear that he held the Russians responsible for failing to stop the violence that made the downing possible.

Read More: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/19/world/europe/malaysia-airlines-plane-ukraine.html?_r=1

Najib Calls For Emergency Parliament Sitting On MH17 Incident

KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has called for an emergency Parliament sitting to table a motion to criticise the inhumane act committed on Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH17 which was believed to have been shot down in Ukraine, on Thursday.

The Prime Minister said the emergency sitting was to state the firm stand of the Malaysian people on the unfortunate tragedy.

Najib said Malaysia strongly criticised the inhumane act which he described as uncivilised, violent and irresponsible.

"Although the flight MH17 was believed to have been shot down, we are not pointing fingers at any one at the moment until concrete proof could be verified," said the Prime Minister in a special message on the MH17 tragedy which was aired live on RTM1, here today.

Najib said he was made to understand that the area where the incident took place was controlled by rebel troops.

"Thus, we are making various efforts, including through diplomatic channels and Malaysia's cordial relations with the countries concerned so that the investigating team can carry out their task while handling of the victims could proceed smoothly," he said.

The Prime Minister said the Malaysian government demanded that the parties involved must guarantee the safety of the rescue teams throughout the operation.

"Secondly, the Malaysian government also urges the parties concerned not to obstruct and contaminate evidence at the site of the tragedy so that investigation could can be carried out transparently and effectively.

"Thirdly, if investigation proves that the flight MH17 was shot down, Malaysia demands that the party responsible be brought to book," he said.

The Prime Minister added that he had conveyed the three demands to the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) Ban Ki Moon.

"I have also requested the Russian President, Vladimir Putin to extend whatever cooperation to achieve these objectives," he said.

Najib also called on all Malaysians to be united and strengthen the spirit of solidarity to face this heartbreaking incident.

"In this moment of sadness which is most challenging, let us stand united, strengthen the spirit of solidarity to face this tragic occasion.

"May Allah grant His blessings for our endeavours to go through this hard time," the Prime Minister added.