Ukraine

[Thomas Eckhardt]

Thank you.

To me it seems that it is once again not the crime but the cover-up that 
gives the real culprits away:

'Under IATA Rules, the parties responsible for the investigation would 
be the Malaysians, as owners of the plane and home country of the 
airline, and the Ukrainians over whose territory the atrocity occurred.  
It was the Dutch however, who took the lead role, citing two facts:  the 
plane had departed from Amsterdam; and they had suffered the largest 
number of their nationals as victims.  The Malaysians were initially 
excluded from the inquiry for reasons that have never been 
satisfactorily explained.  They were finally invited to join the Joint 
Inquiry on 2 December 2014.

Instead, the initial inquiry group consisted of Ukraine, the 
Netherlands, Australia and Belgium.  The Australians suffered the third 
largest loss of life but had no standing to be one of the investigatory 
nations, and certainly less of a claim than the Malaysians.  The 
Australian Prime Minister and some other politicians had been at the 
forefront of making extreme allegations against Russia and President 
Putin.  Why Belgium was included remains a mystery.

On 8 August 2014 these four investigating nations signed an agreement 
that the results of the investigation would not be published unless all 
four countries agreed.  *This gave one of the prime suspects in the 
atrocity, Ukraine, an effective veto over any investigations result that 
attributed blame to them.* This is an astonishing situation and probably 
without precedent in modern air crash investigations.

More significantly however, is that the existence of this secret 
agreement was not announced by the Australian government, nor to the 
best of my knowledge has any report about the existence of the agreement 
or its extraordinary terms, been published in any mainstream publication.

The Dutch magazine Elsevier, under Dutch Freedom of Information laws, 
sought a copy of the agreement.  On 19 November they announced that the 
request had been refused on the grounds that it /“could endanger the 
relations with other countries involved.”/

An Australian citizen (name redacted) wrote to the Minister for 
Infrastructure and Regional Development (Deputy Prime Minister Warren 
Truss) seeking a copy of the agreement.  By letter dated 15 October 2014 
the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) replied on behalf of 
the Minister, refusing the requester a copy of the agreement as its 
contents were “classified.”'

http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/12/19/why-the-secrecy-on-the-mh17-investigation/


Meanwhile, Amnesty International reports:

"Pro-Kyiv volunteer battalions are increasingly blocking humanitarian 
aid into eastern Ukraine in a move which will exacerbate a pending 
humanitarian crisis in the run up to Christmas and New Year, said 
Amnesty International.

“As winter sets in, the already desperate situation in eastern Ukraine 
is being made even worse by the volunteer battalions preventing food aid 
and medicine from reaching those in need. It is no secret that the 
region is facing a humanitarian disaster with many already at risk of 
starvation,” said Denis Krivosheev, acting Director of Europe and 
Central Asia for Amnesty International.

  “These battalions often act like renegade gangs and urgently need to 
be brought under control. Denying food to people caught up in a conflict 
is against international law and the perpetrators must be held to account.”

(...)

“Checking the content of humanitarian convoys crossing frontline is one 
thing. Preventing it is another. Attempting to create unbearable 
conditions of life is a whole new ballgame. Using starvation of 
civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime,” said Denis Krivosheev.

The population of the region has suffered from six months of fighting 
between Kyiv-controlled and pro-Russian separatist forces. More than 
4,700 people have died and thousands more live in fear of being caught 
in the crossfire or being entirely cut off from vital food and medical 
supplies.

Amnesty International reiterates its call for the Ukrainian authorities 
to reign in the volunteer battalions and to ensure that humanitarian aid 
reaches those who desperately need it.'

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/eastern-ukraine-humanitarian-disaster-looms-food-aid-blocked-2014-12-23

For "pro-Kyiv volunteer battalions" read: right-wing and neo-Nazi 
militias. They are now making an attempt to starve the population in the 
rebel-held areas of Eastern Ukraine to death.

These are our guys, even if nobody wants to admit it. This happens in 
our name.

Now, where is our "free press"?

Thomas


Am 27.12.2014 um 06:22 schrieb Joseph Tracy:
> http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-24/russia-claims-new-proof-ukraine-involved-in-downing-of-mh17/5988140-
> Pynchon-l /http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=nchon-l

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