Exposing Corruption:
5 former OPCW officials
join prominent voices to call out Syria cover-up
By Aaron Maté
Prominent signatories
and five former OPCW officials are
calling on the chemical watchdog to
address the cover-up of its chemical
weapons investigation in the Syrian city
of Douma, and to hear out the dissenting
scientists whose findings were censored.
March 17, 2021 "Information
Clearing House" - - "Grayzone"
- Five former officials from the
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
have joined a group of prominent signatories to urge
the OPCW to address the controversy surrounding its
investigation of an alleged chemical weapons attack
in Douma, Syria in April 2018.
Leaks from inside the OPCW show that key
scientific findings that cast doubt on claims of
Syrian government guilt were censored, and that the
original investigators were removed from the probe.
Since the cover-up became public, the OPCW has
shunned accountability and publicly attacked the two
whistleblowers who challenged it from inside.
The “Statement
of Concern” is signed by five former OPCW
officials, including the organization’s founding
leader, José Bustani, and others including Noam
Chomsky, Daniel Ellsberg, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson,
Tulsi Gabbard, John Pilger, Lord West of Spithead,
as well two former senior UN officials, Denis
Halliday and Hans von Sponeck.
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“The issue at hand threatens to severely damage
the reputation and credibility of the OPCW and
undermine its vital role in the pursuit of
international peace and security,” the statement
says. “It is simply not tenable for a scientific
organization such as the OPCW to refuse to respond
openly to the criticisms and concerns of its own
scientists whilst being associated with attempts to
discredit and smear those scientists.”
Pushback host Aaron Maté details the letter and
airs clips of his and Tulsi Gabbard’s recent “Tucker
Carlson Tonight” appearance discussing the OPCW
controversy.
Statement of Concern: The OPCW investigation of
alleged chemical weapons use in Douma, Syria
March 11, 2021
We wish to express our deep concern over the
protracted controversy and political fall-out
surrounding the OPCW and its investigation of the
alleged chemical weapon attacks in Douma, Syria, on
7 April 2018.
Since the publication by the OPCW of its final
report in March 2019, a series of worrying
developments has raised serious and substantial
concerns with respect to the conduct of that
investigation. These developments include instances
in which OPCW inspectors involved with the
investigation have identified major procedural and
scientific irregularities, the leaking of a
significant quantity of corroborating documents, and
damning statements provided to UN Security Council
meetings. It is now well established that some
senior inspectors involved with the investigation,
one of whom played a central role, reject how the
investigation derived its conclusions, and OPCW
management now stands accused of accepting
unsubstantiated or possibly manipulated findings
with the most serious geo-political and security
implications. Calls by some members of the Executive
Council of the OPCW to allow all inspectors to be
heard were blocked.
The inspectors’ concerns are shared by the first
Director General of the OPCW, José Bustani, and a
significant number of eminent individuals have
called for transparency and accountability at the
OPCW. Bustani himself was recently prevented by key
members of the Security Council from participating
in a hearing on the Syrian dossier. As Ambassador
Bustani stated in a personal appeal to the Director
General, if the Organization is confident in the
conduct of its Douma investigation then it should
have no difficulty addressing the inspectors’
concerns.
To date, unfortunately, the OPCW senior
management has failed to adequately respond to the
allegations against it and, despite making
statements to the contrary, we understand has never
properly allowed the views or concerns of the
members of the investigation team to be heard or
even met with most of them. It has, instead,
side-stepped the issue by launching an investigation
into a leaked document related to the Douma case and
by publicly condemning its most experienced
inspectors for speaking out.
In a worrying recent development, a draft letter
falsely alleged to have been sent by the Director
General to one of the dissenting inspectors was
leaked to an ‘open source’ investigation website in
an apparent attempt to smear the former senior OPCW
scientist. The ‘open source’ website then published
the draft letter together with the identity of the
inspector in question. Even more alarmingly, in a
BBC4 radio series aired recently, an anonymous
source, reportedly connected with the OPCW Douma
investigation, gave an interview with the BBC in
which he contributes to an attempt to discredit not
only the two dissenting inspectors, but even
Ambassador Bustani himself. Importantly, recent
leaks in December 2020 have evidenced that a number
of senior OPCW officials were supportive of one OPCW
inspector who had spoken out with respect to
malpractice.
The issue at hand threatens to severely damage
the reputation and credibility of the OPCW and
undermine its vital role in the pursuit of
international peace and security. It is simply not
tenable for a scientific organization such as the
OPCW to refuse to respond openly to the criticisms
and concerns of its own scientists whilst being
associated with attempts to discredit and smear
those scientists. Moreover, the on-going controversy
regarding the Douma report also raises concerns with
respect to the reliability of previous FFM reports,
including the investigation of the alleged attack at
Khan Shaykhun in 2017.
We believe that the interests of the OPCW are
best served by the Director General providing a
transparent and neutral forum in which the concerns
of all the investigators can be heard as well as
ensuring that a fully objective and scientific
investigation is completed.
To that end, we call on the Director General of
the OPCW to find the courage to address the problems
within his organization relating to this
investigation and ensure States Parties and the
United Nations are informed accordingly. In this way
we hope and believe that the credibility and
integrity of the OPCW can be restored.
Signatories in Support of the
Statement of Concern:
José Bustani, Ambassador of Brazil, first
Director General of the OPCW and former
Ambassador to the United Kingdom and France.
Professor Noam Chomsky, Laureate Professor U.
of Arizona and Institute Professor (em), MIT.
Andrew Cockburn, Washington editor, Harper’s
Magazine.
Daniel Ellsberg, PERI Distinguished Research
Fellow, UMass Amherst. Former Defense and State
Department official. Former official of Defense
Department (GS-18) and State Department (FSR-1).
Professor Richard Falk, Professor of
International Law Emeritus, Princeton University.
Tulsi Gabbard, former Presidential candidate
and Member of the US House of Representatives
(2013-2021).
Professor Dr. Ulrich Gottstein, on behalf of
International Physicians for the Prevention of
Nuclear War (IPPNW-Germany).
Katharine Gun, former GCHQ (UKGOV),
whistleblower.
Denis J. Halliday, UN Assistant
Secretary-General (1994-98).
Professor Pervez Houdbhoy, Quaid-e-Azam
University and ex Pugwash.
Kristinn Hrafnnson, Editor in Chief, Wikileaks.
Dr. Sabine Krüger, Analytical Chemist, Former
OPCW Inspector 1997-2009.
Ray McGovern, ex-CIA Presidential Briefer;
co-founder, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for
Sanity.
Elizabeth Murray, former Deputy National
Intelligence Officer for the Near East, National
Intelligence Council (rtd); member, Veteran
Intelligence Professionals for Sanity and Sam Adams
Associates for Integrity in Intelligence.
Professor Götz Neuneck, Pugwash Council and
German Pugwash Chair.
Dirk van Niekerk, former OPCW Inspection Team
Leader, Head of OPCW Special Mission to Iraq
John Pilger, Emmy and Bafta winning journalist
and film maker.
Professor Theodore A. Postol, Professor
Emeritus of Science, Technology, and National
Security Policy, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
Dr. Antonius Roof, former OPCW Inspection Team
Leader and Head Industry Inspections.
Professor John Avery Scales, Professor,
Pugwash Council and Danish Pugwash Chair.
Hans von Sponeck, former UN Assistant
Secretary General and UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator
(Iraq).
Alan Steadman, Chemical Weapons Munitions
Specialist, Former OPCW Inspection Team Leader and
UNSCOM Inspector.
Jonathan Steele, journalist and author.
Roger Waters, Musician and Activist.
Lord West of Spithead, First Sea Lord and
Chief of Naval Staff 2002-06.
Oliver Stone, Film Director, Producer and
Writer.
Colonel (ret.) Lawrence B. Wilkerson, U.S.
Army, Visiting Professor at William and Mary College
and former chief of staff to United States Secretary
of State Colin Powell.
Aaron Maté is a journalist and producer. He
hosts Pushback with Aaron Maté on The Grayzone. He
is also is contributor to The Nation magazine and
former host/producer for The Real News and Democracy
Now!. Aaron has also presented and produced for
Vice, AJ+, and Al Jazeera.
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