UNITED
NATIONS, June
4 -- As the
Syria report
of the UN
Commission of
Inquiry was
released and
debated in
Geneva Tuesday
morning, the
report was as
noteworthy for
what was not
in it as for
what was.
When
panelist Carla
Del Ponte said
publicly there
were "serious
suspicions" of
chemical
weapons use by
the rebels,
CoI
chairperson
Paulo Pinheiri
quickly put
out a press
release
undercutting
it.
And lo
and behold,
his report
says in
Paragraph 138
that while "it
is possible
that
anti-Government
armed groups
may
access and use
chemical
weapons...
there is no
compelling
evidence
that these
groups possess
such weapons
or their
requisite
delivery
systems."
So
there are
"strong
suspicions"
(Del Ponte)
but according
to
Pinheiro's
final report,
no "compelling
evidence"? How
to
square these
two?
On
June 3 Inner
City Press exclusively
reported
that despite a
statement
by Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
Office of the
Spokesperson
that
video said to
indicate rebel
use of
chemical
weapons at
Khan Al-Asal
was being
processed by
the UN's
Angela Kane
for submission
to Ban's
prober Ake
Sellstrom, this has
not taken
place.
Then again,
Pinheiro
wouldn't even
consider the
footage.
Likewise,
while
the Pinheiro
report recites
the repeated
kidnapping of
UN
peacekeepers
in the Golan
in Paragraph
72, it does
not even
mention
the allegation
of involvement
from Doha,
Qatar. During
the debate, it
was (mis?)
stated that Ban's head of Peacekeeping Herve
Ladsous is
investigating
Qatar's role.
Ironically,
Qatar
in its speech
denounced the
abduction of
people.
Really?
Pinheiro
did
speaks against
the transfer
of weapons in
to Syria. At
the UN in
New York on
June 3, the
UK's Alistair
Burt told
Inner City
Press his
country wants
the
flexibility to
do just that.
While
Botswana said
talks could
lead to an
"amicable"
resolution,
it's hard to
imagine any
denouement
that would be
"amicable."
US
Ambassador
Eileen Donahoe
praised the
opposition's
"awareness
campaigns" --
apparently
PSAs by the
FSA, Public
Service
Announcements
by the Free
Syrian Army.
But what about
the Al Nusra
Front? Watch
this site.
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