英字新聞

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Russia must cooperate in investigating downing of Malaysian jet over Ukraine
マレー機撃墜　ロシアは事件捜査に協力せよ

Even though more than one year has passed since the tragic event that killed nearly 300 people, there has been no prospect of prosecuting the perpetrators of the crime. This is an extremely grave situation.
　３００近い人命を奪った悲劇から１年以上が経過しても、実行犯訴追の展望が開けていない。極めて重大な問題だ。

The safety board of the Netherlands has released its final report on the shooting down of the Malaysia Airlines Flight over eastern Ukraine in July last year. The largest number of victims were Dutch.
　昨年７月、ウクライナ東部上空で起きたマレーシア航空機撃墜事件について、最も多くの犠牲者を出したオランダの安全委員会が最終報告書を公表した。

After a detailed analysis of the downing of the plane as fighting continued between Ukrainian government forces and the pro-Russian armed separatists group, the report concluded that the plane was shot down by a Buk surface-to-air missile.
　報告書は、ウクライナ政府軍と親ロシア派武装集団の戦闘中に発生した撃墜の経緯を詳細に分析した結果、地対空ミサイル「ブク」によるものと断じた。

The report said the missile was probably launched somewhere in an area covering about 320 square kilometers in eastern Ukraine. This suggests the involvement of the armed rebels that controlled most of the area.
　ミサイルが発射された可能性のある場所として、ウクライナ東部の約３２０平方キロ・メートルの範囲を特定した。一帯を支配していた武装集団の関与を示唆したものだ。

The United States, European countries and the Ukrainian government say that, after analyzing records of communications and radar reports, the armed separatist group fired a missile on the Malaysian aircraft, mistakenly believing it was a Ukrainian Air Force plane.
　米欧諸国やウクライナ政府は、通信傍受やレーダーの記録などから、武装集団がマレー機をウクライナ空軍機と誤認し、ミサイルを発射したと指摘してきた。

Yet the final report did not go so far as to identify the perpetrator. Although the safety board does not have the authority to apportion blame, we can understand the growing anger among bereaved families of the victims.
　しかし、報告書は、実行犯の特定にまでは踏み込まなかった。安全委に捜査権限がないとはいえ、遺族らが憤りを募らせているのは理解できる。

A criminal investigation, aimed at identifying the perpetrators, will be put into the hands of a joint team comprising officials from such countries as the Netherlands, Malaysia, Ukraine, the United States and Russia.
　実行犯特定を含む刑事責任の追及は今後、オランダ、マレーシア、ウクライナ、米露などで構成する共同捜査団に委ねられる。

A number of suspected perpetrators have apparently already emerged. Making full use of the findings of the safety board, the joint team has to apportion blame for the barbaric action.
　すでに複数の実行犯が浮かんでいるという。共同捜査団は、安全委の調査結果を十分に生かし、蛮行の責任の所在を明確にしなければならない。

Obstacle to probe

An obstacle to the criminal investigation is that both Russia and the armed separatist group have consistently denied involvement. Both have asserted that there is a possibility the Ukrainian forces, which possess Buk missiles, shot down the plane. We think neither of them is cooperative with the investigation.
　障害となるのは、ロシアと武装集団が、自らの関与を一貫して否定していることだ。「ブク」を保有するウクライナ軍による撃墜の可能性を主張してきた。捜査にも非協力的と言うほかない。

Shortly after the crash, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s administration tacitly agreed that the pro-Russian separatists should block access of an international investigation team to the crash site.
　プーチン政権は事件直後、国際的な調査チームの現場入りを武装集団が妨害するのを黙認した。

In July, Russia vetoed a U.N. Security Council draft resolution that would have set up an international tribunal to prosecute those suspected of downing the airliner, leading to the draft resolution being rejected.
　今年７月には、実行犯の責任を問う国際犯罪法廷設置を巡る国連安全保障理事会決議案に拒否権を発動し、否決に追い込んだ。

The actions taken by Russia will only increase distrust toward that country.
　一連の行動は、ロシアへの不信を強めるだけではないか。

To identify the site where the missile was launched from and to prosecute those suspected of downing the airliner, the provision of relevant information from Russia is essential. It is important for the international community to support the joint investigation team and press Russia to cooperate.
　ミサイル発射地点の解明と、全実行犯の訴追には、ロシアによる情報提供が欠かせない。国際社会は共同捜査団を支援し、ロシアに協力を促すことが肝要だ。

In determining what happened, it is urgently needed to stabilize the local situation in eastern Ukraine.
　真相解明には、ウクライナ東部情勢の安定化が急務である。

Although the fighting has been in a lull since last month, the withdrawal of heavy weapons of both the Ukrainian government forces and the separatists has made little progress, delaying the implementation of a ceasefire accord.
　９月以降、戦闘は小康状態にあるが、ウクライナ政府軍と武装集団の重火器撤去が進まないなど、停戦合意の履行は遅れている。

To avoid the conflict from continuing for a protracted period, the United States, European countries and Japan should cooperate with each other and continue urging the parties involved to abide by the ceasefire accord.
　紛争の長期化を避けるために、米欧や日本は連携し、当事者に停戦の順守を迫り続けるべきだ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 19, 2015)