KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) -- The United Nations (UN) Security Council has been urged to issue a resolution to get a free, open and safe access to the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH17 crash site in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine.
Geostrategist Prof Dr Azmi Hassan said the Council, during its recent emergency meeting, had only issued a vague and unspecified statement concerning the incident.
"The statement, among others, call for an international investigation team to be set up, but it did not emphasize the importance for Russia to control the pro-Russian rebels who control the area.
"So, the Council should make a specified resolution to urge the rebels to open a safe passage to the crash site," he told Bernama when contacted here Monday.
Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) School of Politics and International Studies lecturer Md Shukri Shuib said the Council should also use its influence and position to enable the investigation team, especially from Malaysia to enter the crash site, not only to collect evidence, but also to manage the bodies of victims.
"Why don't Malaysia be given a chance to help and carry out its own investigation there? We call for Russia to urge the pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk to respect Malaysia as the owner of flight MH17," he said.
His view was shared by UUM College of Law, Government and International Studies lecturer Mohamad Faisol Keling who said that Malaysia should take the lead in the investigation, while being assisted by recognised and neutral international bodies.
He said this was to prevent bias and evidence loss.
"We want to prevent bias, hiding of facts and evidence because Malaysia need justice. In this context, Malaysia and other affected countries are victims," he told Bernama.
"Maybe UN can order the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation to give security assurance to the investigation team, instead of waiting for the decision to be made by the Russia and Ukraine, for fear that the evidence will be further destroyed," he said.
Universiti Malaya International and Strategic Studies lecturer Prof Datuk Dr Mohamad Abu Bakar, on the other hand, said if the UN opened the safe passage by giving pressure to all quarters, including Russia, to give cooperation to the investigation team, including from Malaysia and Netherlands, the investigation process would be eased.
"The rebels are sensitive group because they want to show to the world that they control the area, they want to be recognised," he said.
Meanwhile, a Malaysian and senior fellow at the S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, Dr Oh Ei Sun said in order to get to the crash site and collect evidence, Malaysia could not do it alone, but must partner with other affected countries like The Netherlands as well as neutral and authoritative organisations.
"If it is proven that any one of the suspected party or nation was indeed involved in the shooting down of MH17, whether intentionally or unintentionally, then of course, international norms dictate that our ties with that nation will be greatly deteriorated, perhaps to the extent of recalling ambassador," he said.
-- BERNAMA
