Chemical Attacks Fabricated against Syrian Government

NEW YORK, (ST)-Syria’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations Bashar Al-Jaafari  has stressed that there are many gaps in the Security Council’s report on the use of chemical weapon in Syria, noting that the issue of chemical attacks was fabricated to be used against the Syrian government.

In an interview with al-Mayadeen TV on Wednesday, al-Jaafari asked how a false witness can foretell an incident that will happen in future, referring to tens of gaps in the report.

He clarified by saying that five months before the chemical attack on Khan al-Asal town in Damascus countryside in 2013, a center was all of a sudden established in Turkey to follow up the “play” of the chemical attacks in Syria. He also clarified that ten hours after the attack he asked for the UN Chief’s help to find out whether chemical weapons were used or not and to specify the identity of the perpetrator, as the victims of the attack were 17 Syrian soldiers, but the United Nations and some influential states did nothing to help Syria find who used chemical weapon in Khan al-Asal.

 The Syrian diplomat pointed out that the final report of the joint Investigation mechanism hasn’t been issued yet. “What was published was based on false testimonies,” he said, adding that the Syrian government hasn’t presented its final notes as it will present them together with the Joint Inspection committee’s report.

Al-Jaafari pointed out that almost sixty parties were fabricated to make testimonies against the Syrian government in the chemical issue.

 He said the government, before the joint inspection committee was formed, had sent 11 letters about the use of chemical weapons, but later the inspection committee didn’t take them into consideration claiming that they came before the mandate was established.

“After the mandate was established, I sent 17 letters relating to 17 incidents in which chemical weapons were used in several Syrian areas and asked for investigation, but they answered: “we are sorry this is not within our mandate,” al-Jaafari said.

“When I asked what if these incidents are within your mandate they replied by saying that they can deal only with the nine cases which the old investigation committee (the fact finding committee) had studied and specified. This means that the trap was basically set up and they came with a specific mission that was drawn up in advance,” al-Jaafari added.

Concerning developments in Aleppo, Syria’s representative at the UN referred to remarks by Robert Mali, Advisor to US President Bartack Obama, that the Americans would prolong the war in Syria to a never ending period.

Washington and its allies don’t seek stopping the fighting in Syria, so they seek temporary truces to supply gunmen with weapon as to reinforce their positions and try to change the situation on ground, said al-Jaafari.

Regarding the intra-Syrian dialogue, al-Jaafari said the US Special Envoy for Syria Staffan De Mistura hasn’t yet get the orders to invite concerned parties for the dialogue.

De Mistura is prolonging the crisis instead of seeking fast come back to Geneva and creating proper circumstances to resume this dialogue without foreign interference, al-Jaafari added, pointing out that de Mistura didn’t stick to his role as a mediator, but he began to make unacceptable biased remarks.

Hamda Mustafa