Putin vetoes MH17 tribunal
A FURIOUS Tony Abbott has slammed Russia over the decision to veto an investigation into the MH17 disaster, saying it “reinforces concerns” that Putin is protecting the killers.
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TONY Abbott has labelled Russia’s veto of an international criminal tribunal into the downing of MH17 as “outrageous”.
In a statement today, the Prime Minister said Russia had shown “complete disregard for the families’ right to know who was responsible and to see these criminals face justice”.
“Its actions reinforce concerns Russia is protecting the perpetrators and continuing to assault the sovereignty of Ukraine,” Mr Abbott said.
“Australia will continue its work with our partners to see justice done.”
The strong rebuke comes after Russia shot down the hopes of MH17 victims’ families that they would get justice.
In New York overnight, Russia vetoed a move to prosecute the rebels — widely believed to be Russian-backed — who killed 298 people, including 39 Australians.
The move immediately sparked international outrage and condemnation.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has been working with other affected nations to convince the United Nations Security Council to establish an international criminal tribunal to prosecute those responsible.
She said loved ones became the victims of an atrocity by “a cruel twist of fate” and that it was vital for their families to see the killers held to account.
Russia’s veto compounded that atrocity, she said, but the perpetrators would “not be allowed to evade justice”.
“Only one hand was raised in opposition, but a veto should never be allowed to deny justice,” she told the Security Council.
“Thirty-nine Australians were among the 298 men, women and children whose lives were tragically taken when MH17 was brought down over eastern Ukraine just over 12 months ago.
“Among our number were six children, two religious leaders, two doctors. A number of teachers. An award-winning fiction writer. A promising aerospace engineer.”
They will now look for an “alternative prosecution mechanism”, she said.
Those in favour of the tribunal argue that it is the best way to achieve justice, and that Russia’s veto will increase the risk of other militants shooting civilian aircraft out of the sky.
Despite 11 of the 15 members supporting the move, Russia used its power as a permanent member of the UNSC to block it.
Ms Bishop has been keeping the families and loved ones of those who died on Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 updated on the progress of the resolution.
Russia’s representative, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin effectively called the resolution a witch hunt, and argued that Russia was the one pushing for a transparent process but that the resolution was political rather than practical.
“Can this investigation resist the aggressive propaganda backdrop in the media? Can it resist (political) pressure?” he asked.
He said the supporting members “knew in advance this would not lead to a positive result”.
“Political purposes were more important to them than practical objectives,” he said.
According to a Kremlin press release, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was not the “best course of action, noting that many questions remain regarding the investigation, including with respect to the evidence collected so far, and to Russia’s not being allowed to participate in much of the investigation”.
In a moving Security Council meeting that started with a minute of silence for the MH17 victims, representative after representative stood up to condemn the killers and mourn the victims.
The United Kingdom’s representative, Matthew Rycroft, declared Russia’s action as an “insult” to victims and their families.
Samantha Power, the United States’ UN Ambassador said Russia had tried to deny justice to victims and families.
“Russia has callously disregarded the public outcry in the grieving nations, the appeals of families affected,” she said.
A Dutch air safety investigation will hand down its report in October, while the findings of the Joint Investigation Team (Australia, Malaysia, Belgium, Ukraine and the Netherlands) are due at the end of the year. It is not clear now where the JIT report will end up.
Before the vote, Ms Bishop said she was “optimistic” about the outcome and had been buoyed by support from UNSC members and the co-sponsors of the resolution, many of whom were ‘grieving nations’.
She had met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who had assured her that “should justice not be achieved today, it will be tomorrow”.
Originally published as Putin vetoes MH17 tribunal