Comments – Do not see
the world powers backing Malaysia and I think Malaysia thanks to Najib have
screwed themselves into a very narrow dark hole.
NEW YORK—
Malaysia has warned that an investigation into the murder of the North
Korean leader’s half-brother “may take longer than what we hope,” as Pyongyang
ally China said yesterday that no international action should be considered
until it is finished.
Malaysia has
said assassins used VX nerve agent, a chemical listed by the United Nations as
a weapon of mass destruction, to kill Kim Jong-un’s estranged half-brother, Kim
Jong-nam, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13.
“Due to the
complexity and sensitivity of the case, investigation may take longer than what
we hope for,” Ahmad Nazri Yusof, Malaysia’s permanent representative to
the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), told a meeting
of The Hague-based body on Tuesday.
“The government
of Malaysia will fully cooperate with the OPCW and other
international organisations to bring the perpetrators to justice,” said Yusof,
according to his statement posted on the OPCW website.
Under the Chemical
Weapons Convention, OPCW states parties can “in cases of particular gravity”
bring an issue to the attention of the UN Security Council and the UN General
Assembly for possible action.
When asked if any
action should be taken over the murder, China’s UN Ambassador Liu Jieyi said
yesterday: “The investigation is still going on, I think we need to see how the
process will lead and what the true situation is.”
The UN Security
Council met behind closed doors yesterday to discuss North Korea’s launch on
Monday of four ballistic missiles.
British UN
Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, president of the 15-member council for March, said
the accusation of the use of VX nerve agent was raised by some council members.
“It came up, but
there was not a particular proposal for the Security Council to take any action
at this stage,” he said.
US officials and
South Korean intelligence suspect North Korean agents were behind the
assassination of Kim Jong-nam, who had been living in Macau under China’s
protection. He had spoken out publicly against his family’s dynastic rule of
North Korea.
“We absolutely see
no place for chemical weapons in any situation whatsoever, so it’s incredibly
disturbing,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told reporters
after the Security Council meeting.
“It’s one more
factor for us to consider and one more factor that we know is an issue as we’re
dealing with how to possibly move forward with North Korea,” she said.
MEANWHILE, according
to Malaysiakini:
The worst-case
scenario following the Malaysia-North Korea diplomatic fallout is that
Pyongyang may order the arrest of Malaysians in the Hermit Kingdom, an
academician cautions.
If this were to
happen, said University of Tasmania’s James Chin, it would send a signal that
Pyongyang is willing to do whatever necessary to retrieve the body of the
murdered Kim Jong-nam.
“Right now, they are
not doing anything to Malaysians, who are not being allowed to leave the
country,” Chin told Malaysiakini.
Chin based his
speculation on reports related to terrorist activities that had taken place in
several countries, in which North Korea was involved.
“North Korea is
unpredictable; it does not follow normal rules, and it would be hard to
negotiate with the North Korean regime. It would do crazy things.
“There were reports
that the North Korean regime in the past had been involved in terrorism,” he
said.
BBC has reported
that North Korea has a long history of
allegedly sending its agents overseas to carry out kidnappings, assassinations
and bombings.
Pyongyang yesterday barred Malaysians there
from leaving the republic, after North Korean envoy to Malaysia Kang Chol was
expelled.
In response, Najib instructed police
to bar all North Koreans from leaving Malaysia.
There are 11
Malaysians in North Korea, including embassy staff and their families.
It was also reported
that approximately 1,000 North Korean citizens are in Malaysia, which until
recently allowed North Koreans entry without visa.
Chin remained
sceptical if the travel ban imposed by Putrajaya would mean anything to the
communist dictatorship.
STILL ROOM FOR DIPLOMACY, NO
NEED TO SEND IN TROOPS
Meanwhile, analyst
Phoon Wing Keong said Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has called North Korea’s
move as holding the Malaysians hostage, in order to highlight the seriousness
of the problem.
Malaysia is using
this strategy to gain the support of the international community, in hope they
would pressure Pyongyang to release the Malaysians, Phoon (photo) said.
The term ‘hostage’
would put North Korea in a bad light and suggest it has violated certain
international norms by acting recklessly, he said.
Phoon explained that
despite Malaysia’s tit-for-tat response to the barring of each other’s
nationals, the international community and media do not classify the North
Koreans in Malaysia as hostages, as they view Malaysia as only responding to
what Pyongyang has done to Malaysians.
“The problem is, if
Pyongyang would succumb easily to pressure and reprimand, then it is not the
current regime (that we know),” he added.
It is too early to
talk about Putrajaya sending people to rescue the 11 Malaysians stuck in North
Korea, he added.
“I believe we have
yet to come to that stage yet, we lack the condition from the aspect of defence
(to launch a rescue mission),” he said.
This is totally
different from the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, where 52 American diplomats and
citizens were held hostage by a group of Iranian students who had taken over US
Embassy in Tehran, he said.
“Iran and US clashed
with each other from the aspect of politics and ideology, particularly after
the Iranian Revolution.
“But Malaysia and
North Korea have been friendly to each other, we even imposed visa-free entry
for North Koreans before.
“We did not have
clear sign of clashes against each other, until the murder of Kim Jong-nam,” he
said.
“There is still
(room) for diplomatic channels for us to resolve (the stalemate), we don’t have
to resort to dramatic means by sending our troops there.
“And we lack such
(military) strength to do so,” Phoon added.
— Reuters / MKINI
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