Tuesday 29 July 2014

Tony Abbott's relentless blowing of his own trumpet fails to impress most voters


This is how Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the Murdoch press spin Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crash site negotiations since this passenger plane was downed with loss of all lives on 17 July 2014:


This is the nation and government which actually successfully arranged access to the site:


KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 (Bernama) 2014 - Russian President Vladimir Putin has given his assurance to use his influence to enable a Malaysian investigation team to enter the crash site of MH17 to commence investigations into the tragedy.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said in a telephone conversation with Putin today after breaking fast this evening, the Russian President stated that Moscow understood the need to investigate the incident.

"President Putin said he hoped Ukraine President (Petro Poroshenko) would agree to a ceasefire to enable the entry of the investigation team into the site.

"Putin said the party in control of the area wants an objective investigation to be conducted and Putin also said Russia did not have the capacity to shoot down the aircraft," Najib told reporters after receiving the call from Putin.

Earlier, Najib attended a breaking of fast with the media organised by the Communications and Multimedia Ministry at the Al-Muhammadi Mosque compound in Angkasapuri, here.

In the telephone call, the prime minister also told Putin on the need for the investigation team to be allowed into the crash site to start the investigation.

He said the investigation team which comprised Malaysian representatives should be given assurance on safety while carrying out their task.

"I also told Putin that the site should not be tampered before the team begins its investigation," he said.

Asked which party was responsible for the incident, Najib said Malaysia was a victim of an intense geopolitical conflict in the area.

"So that's the one that hangs over the whole attempt to initiate an immediate investigation," he said.

Najib said the group in control of the MH17 crash site and the Ukrainian government must agree to a ceasefire to enable the investigation team to enter the incident site as soon as possible.

"There is a commitment for a ceasefire by both parties but it should be translated into a form of an agreement, and I have informed President Putin that our investigation team has left for Kiev and I want them to be allowed into the area," he said.

On the involvement of some of the world's superpowers in the incident, Najib said the matter was very complex as they had their own and opposing views.

Najib said although he had no plans to visit Kiev on the incident, he was in constant contact with the leaders concerned.

He said today, he had received calls from leaders of several countries including Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, United Nations Secretary-General (UN) Ban Ki-moon and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

On reports that the MH17 plane was shot down and the parties involved should be held responsible, the prime minister said it needed complete investigation based on facts and solid evidence.

He said if the aircraft was shot down, forensic investigations would be able to determine it with ample evidence recovered from the aircraft.

MH17 aircraft, carrying 298 passengers and crew, was on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it crashed in Ukraine, near the Russian border, on Thursday.

The Boeing 777 plane left Amsterdam at 12.15pm (local time) on Thursday and was expected to arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 6.10am (Malaysian time) on Friday.

Of the 298 passengers on board MH17, 44 were Malaysians.





Malaysia has secured an agreement with Ukrainian separatists, who control the area around the MH17 crash site, to allow a group of international police personnel to enter the area in order to provide protection for international crash investigators.

Pursuant to the earlier agreement between Prime Minister Najib Razak and Alexander Borodai, leader of the separatist forces, Mr Borodai today agreed to allow a deployment of international police personnel to enter the crash site.

Prime Minister Najib has today spoken to the prime ministers of the Netherlands and Australia, and the three grieving countries have agreed to work closely together in deploying police personnel.

68 Malaysian police personnel will leave Kuala Lumpur for the crash site on Wednesday as part of the international deployment.

Under the original three point agreement brokered between Prime Minister Najib and Mr Borodai last week, the Ukrainian separatists agreed to:
1. transfer the black boxes to Malaysia;
2. handover the human remains to international officials;
3. and grant full access to the crash site for international investigators.

So far, international air crash investigators have been unable to properly deploy across the vast crash site in eastern Ukraine and collect evidence due to ongoing security concerns, including continued military activity. Malaysia calls for an immediate cessation of all military activities in and around the crash site.

Malaysia is concerned that these security concerns are preventing full and unfettered access to the site, and therefore a proper, independent investigation from being carried out. Moreover, Malaysia is particularly concerned that some human remains may still be at the crash site.

Malaysian officials are discussing the details of the police deployment with the Netherlands and Australia. Malaysian Foreign Minister, Anifah Aman, has been speaking to his international counterparts and officials from the Ukrainian government on the legal and diplomatic framework for the deployment.

Malaysian Transport Minister, Liow Tiong Lai, has been leading on the MH17 investigation, working closely with the head of the investigation in the Netherlands.

SPEAKING EARLIER TODAY, PRIME MINISTER NAJIB RAZAK SAID:

“I am deeply concerned that international investigators have been unable to properly deploy to the crash site because of the volatile security situation. It is imperative that we deploy a full team of investigators to ensure that all the human remains are removed from the site, identified and repatriated. Everyone who was on board MH17 must be afforded proper dignity and respect.

“We also need a full deployment of investigators to have unfettered access to the crash site so we can understand precisely what happened to MH17. I hope that this agreement with Mr Borodai will ensure security on the ground, so the international investigators can conduct their work.

“Three grieving nations have formed a coalition to secure the site. Through our joint deployment of police personnel, the Netherlands, Australia and Malaysia will work together to achieve justice for the victims.”

Because Australian voters are not stupid, Tony Abbott relentless media releases, interviews, press conferences (and News Corp’s shameless propaganda on his behalf) since the downing of Flight MH17 have fallen on somewhat deaf ears when his overall performance is considered and fails to significantly improve the overall Coalition position :


Snapshots from The Daily Telegraph poll of 1,400 people across Australia conducted on 23-25 July 2014 by Galaxy Research


This Newspoll telephone survey conducted for The Australian between 25-27 July 2014 is based on 1,157 interviews across Australia excluding the Northern Territory.



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