President Reagan last week accused the Russians of a massive cover-up over the shooting down of the South Korean Air-liner with the loss of 269 lives. In his weekly radio broadcast he said the Russians had shown their capacity to commit any crime, lie and cheat.

A poll for the Newsweek showed that 52 percent of Americans felt Mr. Reagan had not done enough in impos- ing anti-Soviet sanctions. The United States observed last Sunday as a nation- al day of mourning for the victims of the airline disaster.

In another development, the British government announced a 14-day ban on Aeroflot flights in and out of Britain from next Thursday. The move is in keeping with the decision taken by the majority of NATO members in response to the disaster. Nonetheless, it is short of the kind of united response from the free world that the United States has apparently been seeking.

The near hysteria that the media has followed the Korean airline's affair with screaming headlines across the front pages of both the tabloids and the quality papers as well as the air-time coverage by the radio and television is an indication of the shock that has gripped the West.

Ths strident criticism of the Russian's rather reprehensible act of deadly attack on innocent passengers, it seems, mainly hinges on the fear that if such attacks are allowed to pass without international uproar to make the Kremlin cringe in remorse that would stay its trigger-happy fingers in the future, the world air traffic faces the danger of being shot out of the sky on the slightest provocation, real or imagined.

As expected, erudite analyses. have been made on the possible reason for the downing of the passenger airliner but nobody has as yet told us why a jumbo-jet which does not resemble any of the planes usually used in such reconnaissance exercises should stray into obviously well-guarded enemy territory and, for about three hours fly in the shadow of death, inspite of all the warning which the Russians say they issued to it.

I must confess that I have never fully understood the cloak and dagger game between the Americans and the Russians in each other's countries and countries under their influence. Does anybody remember Gary Powers and the famous U-2 plane incident? Up till today, one Scandinavian country is still puzzling over what it suspected was a submarine lurking inside its restricted waters.

Considering the upheaval that followed the Korean Air-liner disaster and the fact that more light needs to be shed on it from sources other than the Russians and the Americans who have been accused of playing up the whole incident for what it's worth, I consulted my friend Harold Krantz, the Kremlinologist who has remained silent throughout the week over the incident. I could see that he was mighty glad that at long last someone wanted to know his opinion.

"Let me put the question to you this way: Would the Russians deliberately and callously shoot down a plane full of passengers even if it was violating their airspace?"

"It depends", Harold said, applying a lighted flame to his pipe, "on the type of plane it is".

"I said passenger plane, a fact which neither the Russians nor the Americans have had any disagreement on", I pointed out.

"You're right but remember that any plane can be fitted out to do the job of a passenger plane."

"You're not suggesting that the jumbo-jet could have been doubling as a spy-plane", I said; the shock apparently registering in my voice.

"Someone is obviously not telling the world the whole truth."

"Perhaps, except that in the international diplomatic circles, there are no such words as truth and lies," Krutz said as the words all wrapped up in thick tobacco smoke drifted skywards.

"But President Reagan has just accused the Russians of being liars and cheats very strong words, if I may say so."

"Exactly, but it isn't in the conventional usage context. What he is telling President Andropov is that he should not have been so high-handed on those poor passengers. It's all a question of give and take really.

"Now just wait a minute", I said, wiping cold sweat from my forehead. "Do you mean that the two countries know something that the rest of us don't know?

"Of course, they do. Why do you think the Americans have not unleashed a full economic blockade against the Russians"? he asked. The all pervading scent of the tobacco had completely enveloped us.

"I am totally confused".

"Good, you're meant to be. That's the point in the whole international furore. The more confused people are, the better for the super-powers who can then continue the business of playing games with us all.

"Games"?

"Yes, star war games where the powers meet regularly at summits to talk about limiting the arms race and then go right back to expand it."

"Boy, I'm beginning to warm up to the issue", I said, watching Harold fill up the pipe again. "Do you think we in the developing countries are in danger?"

"Of your air-planes being shot down by the Russians? No chance unless you decide to start prestigious flights to China and Korea."

"Where do you think all this would end", I asked peering through the smoke to see his face.

"The prestigious flights or the Korean Affair?"

"The Korean airliner case, of course."

"Well, it would soon fade away and leave us all-both fliers and users of terra firma - where we've been all these years of super-power rivalry", he said.

"Where ?"

"In the shadow of a nuclear holocaust".

I could imagine the thick tobacco aroma and smoke transforming into an ominous mushroom-shaped cloud over us.