Syria does not recognize the OPCW’s Investigation and Identification Team report on using chemical weapons
Syria does not recognize the the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ Investigation and Identification Team’s report , nor its previous and subsequent reports, because it was established based on pressure exerted by the United States, France and Britain for special purposes in clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
“Syria calls on the technical secretariat of the OPCW to stop its bias towards Western positions and not to issue repeated reports prepared by Western countries and “Israel” against Syria,” Syria’s Permanent Representative to (OPCW) in the Hague, Ambassador Milad Attia said in a press conference at the building of the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry. The press conference was attended by Syria Times.
Attia underlined that the scenarios and fabrications that said that Syria was using chemicals in some areas that were under the control of terrorist groups are not new, as these groups and their supporters were promoting these fabrications before every meeting of the Security Counci and the Human Rights Council in the hope of influencing public opinion and prevent the Syrian state from advancing in those areas to liberate them from terrorism.
Attia renewed Syria’s demand for the technical secretariat of OPCW to stop its bias towards Western positions and not to issue misleading continues reports prepared for it by Western countries and “Israel” against Syria.
Attia stressed that Syria acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 2013, and based on a voluntary and strategic decision, it destroyed its entire stockpile of chemical weapons in a short time of six months despite the difficult circumstances it was going through, and the United Nations and OPCP confirmed this issue.
Attia noted that Syria cooperated with the OPCW, facilitated the visits of its teams to all regions and places that they requested to visit, and provided all the facilitations and protection required for the success of its tasks and work despite the difficult circumstances imposed by the war on Syria.
He added that there are many violations and serious defects in the methods of work and investigations in the work of the Fact-Finding Mission which affected the credibility of its reports and prevented it from carrying out its role and mandate, and what is the stipulated for in the Chemical Weapons Convention, in addition to not adhering to the terms of reference that were agreed upon between Syria and the technical secretariat of the organization.
Attia stated that the report was based mostly on information it obtained from countries hostile to Syria and some other entities and “open sources”, which are media outlets and social networking sites run by terrorist organizations, including the “Al-Nusra Front” that is on the Security Council’s list of terrorist entities, in addition to information from Intelligence sources belonging to countries hostile to Syria. All these parties participated in the fabrication of this alleged incident and other incidents to accuse Syria of using chemicals.
Attia said that the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Turkey and Qatar, in addition to other countries, rushed to issue statements full of misleading and distorting facts about the aforementioned report.
Attia stressed that these countries are the same ones that practiced in the aggression against Syria in all its forms and supported terrorist groups, including ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra, using military, logistical, media and intelligence means, in an attempt to destroy the Syrian state.
Attia stated that the United States, Britain and France launched a few days after the alleged Douma incident on April 14, 2018, a barbaric tripartite aggression against Syrian territory, under false pretexts and even without waiting for any investigations into this incident, and up till now those countries are exploiting this false report.
The report issued by the Organization at that time was to justify the aggression against Syria and to increase political pressure and impose more sanctions and an unjust siege on the Syrian people to prevent Syria from proceeding with the process of rebuilding what was destroyed by their terrorist war against it.
After Attia’s statement, a short film was presented which showed foreign experts and journalist clarifications of what happened in Douma in addition to local Syrian citizens, doctors and social notables who also spoke of what happened in Douma on the day of April 7th, 2018 regarding the alleged chemical attack.
After the film, journalists and tv anchors asked questions to Ambassador Attia and witnesses from the city of Douma who attended the press conference.
Witnesses from the city of Douma said that the alleged incident using chemicals in the city on April 7, 2018 was a fabricated play by terrorist organizations and their supporters to justify the attacks on Syria.
“I live 400 meters from the place of the alleged incident, and I only learned of its was happened the next day through social media,” Muhammad Al-Naasan, opposition lawyer and resident from the city of Douma, said to Syria Times.
“The Hospital’s administration said a day before the alleged incident that it was necessary to prepare for an event that would result in a large number of injuries. This confirms that there were prior preparations for the fabricated play that was filmed.” Dr. Hassan Owoun, a first aid doctor at Douma Hospital during the alleged incident, said during the press conference.
“The terrorists announced that there were about 800 injuries from chemical substances and while the total numbers of those who visited the hospital that day did not exceed 35,” Dr. Owoun added.
Mustafa Qashou’, one of the social notables of Douma, said: “We have no information about the victims and we do not know any of them.”
Sheikh Ratib Naji, an imam and preacher of a mosque in Douma, said: “We did not see with our own eyes any injured or dead, as they claimed, and those whom the terrorists claimed were dead, their bodies did not appear, and when we demanded to see the dead bodies, they assaulted us.”
Ambassador Attiai and local witnesses of Douma prove by evidence that the the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ Investigation and Identification Team report on January 27th is fabricated and politicized to justify the April 14, 2018 barbaric tripartite aggression against Syrian territory.
Reported by: O. al-Mohammad