DISINFO: OPCW politicized by the West, does not comply with its own standards
SUMMARY
Chemical weapons in Syria were produced by militants and equipment was manufactured in Western Europe. … US, UK, France, Allies Trying to Turn OPCW Into a Politicized Institution
While conducting investigations into chemical incidents in Syria, compliance with a strict sequence of actions to preserve evidence has been violated.
The neglect of the OPCW standards “led to contradictions, inconsistencies and falsifications of facts in the reports on the results of investigations, which are clearly anti-Syrian in nature. … The White Helmets used a low-grade explosive device in the Syrian settlement of Khan Shaykhun last year to stage a chemical weapons attack, later blamed on the Syrian government forces
RESPONSE
No evidence given. Repeating recurring disinformation on chemical attack in Douma, Syria. https://euvsdisinfo.eu/disinformation-cases/?text=douma&disinfo_issue=&date= Bellingcat has debunked pro-Kremlin claims systematically concerning the chemical attacks in Syria www.bellingcat.com/?s=chemical, An NYT investigation has found that the Syrian government is to blame for the chemical attack in Douma www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/24/world/middleeast/douma-syria-chemical-attack-augmented-reality-ar-ul.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&smvar=te-article, In a joint Statement by Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America called for an end to the unacceptable Russian defamation of the OPCW. They have also called a so-called information meeting at OPCW headquarters that Russia held 'nothing more than a crude propaganda exercise'. https://nl.ambafrance.org/Syria-OPCW-Joint-Statement-26-april-2018 See our timeline of the ongoing pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign surrounding the Salisbury poisoning and the Douma chemical attack. Furthermore, the White Helmets and their supporters have been the target of the pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign for years already euvsdisinfo.eu/disinformation-cases/?text=white+helmets&disinfo_issue=&date=&offset=0, It is also not the first time that Russian officials present faked evidence as proof euvsdisinfo.eu/computer-game-as-irrefutable-proof/, Sputnik is a state-funded outlet created in December 2013 as part of a broader restructuring of Russian government media. According to the presidential decree, which established its parent company, Sputnik’s purpose is “reporting the state policy of the Russian Federation, and public life in the Russian Federation, abroad.” medium.com/dfrlab/blowing-the-whistle-on-sputnik-493e0bc26e99,
For background: On 7 April 2018, a high number of civilians were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Douma, with evidence pointing towards another chemical attack by the regime, according to the EU. See also Bellingcat's open source survey on the suspected chemical attack: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2018/04/11/open-source-survey-alleged-chemical-attacks-douma-7th-april-2018/https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2018/04/29/pieces-matter-syrias-chlorine-bombs-douma-chemical-attack/ On April 10 Russia vetoed a U.S.-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution that would have created a new inquiry to ascertain responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria. UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism found Syria’s Government responsible for last year’s attack in Khan Shaykhun. In September 2017, the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic summarized 33 separate incidents where it had found use of chemical weapons. Since then there have been several additional suspected chemical attacks. Between March 2013 and March 2017, the Commission documented 25 incidents of chemical weapons use in the Syrian Arab Republic, of which 20 were proven to have been perpetrated by government forces and used primarily against civilians. http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/IICISyria/Pages/IndependentInternationalCommission.aspx
