At
UN, Threats on
Embassies in
Syria Blamed
on "Hacking,"
Churkin Cites
Benghazi
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 13 --
After a
reported
threat against
embassies in
Damascus,
Russia on
November 12
proposed a
draft press
statement
which would
express grave
concern the
threats
emanating from
the
Damascus
military
council of the
Free Syrian
Army and call
on those
who made them
to repudiate
the
provocative
statements.
The
draft was
blocked, by
France, and a
new "silence
procedure"
deadline was
set for
November 13 at
noon.
An hour before
that,
Russian
Ambassador
Vitaly Churkin
was asked,
what about the
press
statement? He
asked, which
one? (There
was also pending
Friday a
statement on
Syria military
action in the
Golan -- which
Syria told
Inner City
Press was "orally
approved" by
the UN mission
UNDOF.)
After
Churkin asked,
which one,
Inner City
Press
specified, the
threats
against
embassies to
leave Damascus
in 72 hours.
Churkin
replied
that the
response had
been that the
website with
the threat had
been
hacked. He
said he's not
sure of the
technical
details, but
it may be
that there are
two competing
groups.
Churkin
mentioned
other recent
attacks on
diplomatic
premises,
citing in
particular the
attack on the
US facility in
Benghazi in
Libya.
And
so it seems
the draft
press
statement will
not be
adopted. Some
linked this
with the Golan
draft
statement. Now
"hacking"
is made public
as rationale.
Watch this
site.