From CBC:
“Trudeau says evidence indicates
Iranian missile brought down Ukrainian flight”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
says intelligence now indicates the Ukrainian passenger aircraft that crashed
outside of Tehran on Wednesday, killing everyone on board — including 138
people destined for Canada — was shot down by an Iranian missile. "We have intelligence from multiple
sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates
that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile," he
said during a news conference in Ottawa, adding that it might have been an
unintentional act. "The news will undoubtedly come as a further shock to
the families who are already grieving in the face of this unspeakable
tragedy." Of the 176 victims killed, 63 were Canadian citizens and
included entire families, academics, students and newlyweds. Trudeau said
intelligence and evidence started coming in overnight suggesting the aircraft
likely was brought down by a surface-to-air strike, but wouldn't offer further
details. The prime minister's comments came after reports out of the U.S. said
it's "highly likely" that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile
inadvertently brought down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752. Iranian
officials have denied the allegation. Repatriating Canadian air crash victims
will be hampered by a lack of diplomatic ties with Iran, experts say "Scientifically,
it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane, and such rumours are
illogical," Ali Abedzadeh, the head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization,
was quoted as saying by the semi-official ISNA News Agency on Thursday. The
crash happened just hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on
Iraqi bases housing U.S. soldiers, in response to U.S. President Trump's
decision to order the targeted killing of Iranian military commander Qassem
Soleimani. When asked if the U.S. airstrike was in part to blame for the crash,
Trudeau said only that Canada needs a thorough investigation. "The
evidence suggests that this is the likely cause but we need to have a full and
complete and credible investigation to establish exactly what happened. That's
what we are calling for and that's what we're expecting will happen," he
said.
Questions about investigation
Yesterday, Trudeau told reporters
it was "too early to speculate" on whether the Boeing 737-800
passenger plane had been shot down. This morning, news began to break from U.S.
sources citing satellite data and saying the aircraft most likely was shot down
inadvertently. Canada's signal intelligence agency said it's playing a role in
the investigation. "Although the Communications Security Establishment
does not comment on intelligence operations, we can confirm that we are engaged
with our national security and intelligence partners and other Government of
Canada departments on this matter," said a spokesperson in an email to
CBC. According to sources, senior officials from the Privy Council Office,
Transport Canada, the Department of National Defence and Public Safety met this
morning to discuss the crash. Trudeau vowed Canadian investigators would get
access to the crash site. Following international protocol, Iran's civil
aviation authority officials will lead the investigation into the crash, while
Canada's Transportation Safety Board has appointed a Canadian expert to receive
and review information from the probe. "Canadian expertise when it comes
to air tragedies, expertise when it comes to crash investigations, is world
class. We have much to contribute and we have lost much in the loss of so many
Canadian lives, so many families across this country grieving," said the
prime minister.
"We will be involved. We
will offer all the expertise we have to offer."
Foreign Affairs Minister
François-Philippe Champagne said today that despite Canada's rocky relationship
with Iran, he's been reassured that Canadian investigators will get visas to
enter the country. Champagne spoke to his Iranian counterpart late last night
and, according to an official readout of the call, stressed "the need for
Canadian officials to be quickly granted access to Iran to provide consular
services, help with identification of the deceased and take part in the
investigation of the crash." The readout didn't say whether Iranian
Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif agreed to Champagne's requests. But
at a press conference Thursday afternoon, Champagne described the conversation
as "open" and "encouraging." "This is step one,
getting access in the country for our quick reaction team, and obviously being
able to participate in the investigation," he said. "We are following
that, I would say, minute by minute or hour by hour and we will be providing all
of the information to Canadians as soon as I have news." The Iranian
aviation authority said it has invited "all the states involved " to
join a growing team investigating the plane crash.
Difficulty repatriating Canadian
victims
The work of probing the cause of
the crash and repatriating the bodies of the Canadians likely will be
complicated by the fact that Canada severed diplomatic ties with Iran years
ago. Under then prime minister Stephen Harper, the federal government cut ties
with Iran in 2012. The Liberals pledged to re-engage with the country in 2015
but, to date, bilateral relations have not been renewed. 138 passengers on
flight that crashed in Iran were headed for Canada: Trudeau Thomas Juneau, a
University of Ottawa expert on the Middle East, said another hampering factor
is that Iran does not recognize dual citizenship. The Canadian government
already has said that many of the dead may have been Canadian-Iranians
travelling on Iranian passports. In the view of the Iranian government, those
individuals could be seen as Iranians, said Juneau. The Embassy of Canada to
Turkey in Ankara has consular responsibility for Iran, while Italy represents
Canada diplomatically in Tehran. Ukrainian Ambassador to Canada Andriy
Shevchenko said his country, which has a diplomatic presence in Iran, will do
everything it can to keep Canada involved in the investigation and help it
diplomatically if needed. "We will have to walk through this pain together
with Canada," said Shevchenko on Thursday, while opening up a book of
condolence at the embassy in Ottawa. "There is no long distance for pain and
for empathy." Shevchenko, who also
serves as his country's representative with the Montreal-based International
Civil Aviation Organization, said Ukraine already has investigators on the
ground. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he'll also push for an open
investigation. "We are working closely with Canada and our international
partners and there now needs to be a full, transparent investigation,"
said Johnson, whose country lost four citizens in the crash. "It is vital
that there should be an immediate and respectful repatriation of those who've
lost their lives to allow their families to grieve properly." Champagne
will meet with U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab later this afternoon in
Montreal. They're expected to talk about the crash and mounting tensions in the
Middle East. "Sad to arrive under such tough circumstances as our close
friend Canada grieves for those who died tragically in yesterday's Ukrainian International
Airlines crash," tweeted Raab before taking off for Montreal.
^ If Iran did “accidently” shoot
down the plane then they should have immediately told Ukraine and the rest of
the world what happened otherwise Iran is guilt of murdering innocent people as
well as trying to cover-it-up. I believe there will be a muted international
investigation allowed by Iran, but that even if all the evidence shows that Iran
shot the plane down with a missile and covered it up the countries involved
(Ukraine, Canada, US, etc.) won’t do anything to punish Iran – just like no one
did anything to punish Russia for shooting down the Malaysian plane in eastern
Ukraine years ago. ^
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.