January 11, 2020
By Grace Hauck
Hours after Iranian officials (click here) accepted blame for shooting down a Ukrainian passenger jet, Canada's prime minister called for justice for the families of the 176 people killed.
"Shooting down a civilian aircraft is horrific. Iran must take full responsibility," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a press conference Saturday. He called the crash, which killed 63 Canadians, a "senseless loss of life."
"Even in a moment of heightened tensions, this should never have happened," he said. "There are going to be many conversations and reflections on consequences."
In a phone call with Trudeau on Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had committed to collaborate on the investigation, de-escalate tensions in the region, and continue a dialogue, Trudeau said....
There needs to be a change in international policy that provides for a redirection and/or suspension of air travel when any act of war is expected and/or underway. This is the second time in only a few years that airliners were destroyed because of war. It is hard to believe there aren't such standards in place already, but, evidently there isn't significant enforcement to provide for safe passage.
(1) At its 13th session (September 1952: CO-ORDINATION/R.132) (click here) CCAQ adopted certain guiding principles to secure uniformity in many conditions of travel and removal.
Where air travel is in jeopardy, other means must be available to people even if passing through other countries is necessary to provide for their safety. International cooperation in saving civilian lives should be a strong initiative. Taking civilian hostages should never be allowed and every effort should be made to return them to their homeland uninjured.
January 11, 2020
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky (click here) said today that Iran’s admission that the Iranian military has dropped a Ukrainian passenger plane with a rocket is a step in the right direction, but those responsible for it need to be looked into, Reuters reported. Iran has admitted today that the Ukrainian plane was shot down by a missile by mistake.
Zelensky wrote this on Twitter after having a telephone conversation with Iranian President Hassan Rohani earlier today.
“I urge that the identification of the bodies and their return to Ukraine be completed immediately,” Zelensky said in a tweet.
A message from the Ukrainian presidency about Zelensky’s telephone conversation with Rohani says that the Iranian president has promised his Ukrainian counterpart that the perpetrators of the crash with the Ukrainian plane will be tried, France reported.
Rohani also had a phone call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today and promised him a further inquiry into the descent of the Ukrainian plane, Reuters quoted Iran as saying....
The deaths are extremely unfortunate, but, at least Iran has come forward to take responsibility. I am confident Iran will be hearing from families and their legal representatives. I would expect the same cooperation for them as well.
