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Yet another tragedy

KUALA LUMPUR has a tragic log to keep. The loss of two passenger aircraft this year, that too under mysterious circumstances, is an unspeakable tragedy.

While the first, MH-370, went missing, supposedly in the oceans south of Australia, with any wreckage yet to be found, the shooting down of MH-17 over the skies of eastern Ukraine is terrorism. Though none has claimed responsibility for this gruesome act, the downing proves the fact that the crisis in Ukraine is getting out of proportions.

Attacking a commercial airliner with civilians on board is a cowardice act, and hints at the bizarreness that has set in the Ukraine civil strife. While media reports point a finger at the ethnic Russian rebels for the downing of the Malaysian airliner, which was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, the question many ask is how can AK47s and surface-to-surface rockets bring down an airliner cruisung at a height of 30,000 feet? Allegations that a surface-to-air missile is the culprit thicken the plot, making a case for a UN investigation to find out if a state actor is involved.

This international air disaster in a war zone, which claimed the lives of 300 people on board, has compounded the crisis. The Donetsk region over which the airplane was targetted is under rebel control and is incidentally close to the Russian border, which is more than enough to fuel speculation that strings might have been pulled from Kremlin. But the question is what would Moscow gain by shooting a foreign civilian aircraft? This argument necessitates an independent inquiry to fix responsibility and prosecute the culprit.