Nigeria
on Friday in New York expressed her full support for an independent
international investigation into the Malaysian airline flight disaster
in eastern Ukraine, which killed all 298 people on board.
Joy Ogwu, Nigeria’s
Permanent Representative to the United Nations, expressed the country’s
support at an emergency session of the UN Security Council.
In
her statement, e-mailed to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja,
the envoy described the downing of flight MH17 as an “apocalyptic end of
the world.”
She
said the plane went down in an area under the control of the armed
rebel groups, urging the rebels “to co-operate fully and unconditionally
with investigations into the crash.”
Ogwu said: “Yesterday at noon, the world watched in horror the downing of the Malaysian jetliner.
“What happened yesterday seemed like an apocalyptic end of the world.
“I think Samantha Power (the U.S. envoy to the UN) described it somehow (in her speech).
“This
spectacle is graphically described in the Book of Revelation and I
quote: `a hail of fire mixed with blood fell upon the earth; the sun and
the earth were darkened.’
“That was what I saw yesterday.’’
The envoy warned that the development was a dangerous trend, which needed to be checked.
“No
matter our religious beliefs, this scenario may become a
self-fulfilling prophecy if states continue to choose to openly support
theatres of conflict in every part of the world.’’
She however said this was no time for any “blame game’’ on who was responsible for the disaster.
Ogwu noted that the plane crash might be connected with the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.
“If
it is established that the plane was shot down deliberately and on
purpose, then it will mark a new dimension in the Ukraine crisis.’’
She said it was very important for the facts surrounding the crash to be well “ascertained dispassionately.”
“We
have no doubt that without the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the
widespread lawlessness engendered by the activities of the rebel groups
in the eastern part of the country, this tragic accident would not have
occurred.’’
The
envoy who expressed Nigeria’s condolences to the governments and
peoples of countries whose citizens died in the crash renewed Nigeria’s
call for the cessation of hostilities in Ukraine.
“Nigeria
is expecting a return by all parties involved to dialogue and
negotiation within the framework of the Geneva statement of April 17 and
July 2 four-party talks in Berlin,’’ she said.
Meanwhile,
a statement issued by the 15-member UN Security Council has called for a
full, thorough and independent international investigation into the
incident.
It
said the investigation must be “in accordance with international civil
aviation guidelines and for appropriate accountability.
“The
members of the Security Council further stress the need for all parties
to grant immediate access for investigators to the crash site to
determine the cause of the incident.’’
Earlier on Friday, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, Bello Ringim, had told NAN the embassy “had no information about any Nigerian on the Malaysian flight.’’
His comments came before the Malaysian airline published nationalities of those on the ill-fated flight.
According to the airline, the 15 crew members on Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 were all Malaysian nationals.
A
breakdown issued by the airline on the known nationalities shows that
189 were Dutch, 29 Malaysian, 27 Australian, 12 Indonesian, nine from
the U.K and four from Germany.
Others were four from Belgium, three from the Philippines, one Canadian and one from New Zealand.
The Malaysian airline said authorities were still trying to determine the nationalities of the other people on board.
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