Canada slams Syria for gas attacks, based on allegedly falsified OPCW report on Douma
Photo Credit: (Yahoo News/Google Images)
Written by: Aidan Jonah
Yesterday afternoon, François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, issued a statement in support of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons reports on Syria.
In the statement Champagne emphasized Canada’s stance against the Syrian government:
“We condemn the Assad regime’s repeated and morally reprehensible attacks on the people of Syria, in particular, its use of chemical weapons. Any use of chemical weapons is an abhorrent breach of international law.”
Canada uncritically accepted the findings of the OPCW, which has been rocked by multiple whistleblower reports:
“As a state party to the Chemical Weapons Convention [CWC], Syria has an obligation to fully eliminate its chemical weapons program. It has repeatedly failed to do so. We demand that the Assad regime declare its entire chemical weapons stockpile without delay so that it may be verifiably destroyed, as required under the CWC.”
OPCW Whistleblowers Contend that Douma Report was Falsified
The Grayzone reported in early February that:
“An OPCW report released in March 2019 lent credence to claims by Islamist militants and Western governments that the Syrian military killed around 40 civilians with toxic gas in the city of Douma in April 2018. The accusation against Damascus led to US-led military strikes on Syrian government sites that same month.”
Leaked internal documents published by Wikileaks showcase how OPCW inspectors who were deployed to Douma rejected the official story, and complained that higher-level officials excluded them from the post-mission process, distorted key evidence, and ignored their findings.
Months later, the OPCW responded with an internal inquiry that attacking the credibility and qualifications of the two veteran officials. The inquiry describes the pair as rogue, low-level actors who played minor roles in the Douma mission and lacked access to crucial evidence. In a briefing to member states, OPCW Director General Fernando Arias dismissed them as disgruntled ex-employees. The two “are not whistle-blowers,” Arias said. “They are individuals who could not accept that their views were not backed by evidence.
In formal letters to the OPCW Director-General, the two veteran officials refuted the OPCW’s leadership’s efforts to damage their credibility.
“Why would a pair of the top Inspection Team Leaders, both with impeccable records… suddenly ‘go rogue’?” wrote one whistleblower in his letter.
“Why would we risk so much?” asked the other, answering, “Something had gone wrong inside the OPCW.”
In an email, a third former official, who worked in a senior role, blamed external pressure and potential threats to their family for their failure to speak out about the corruption of the Douma investigation.
In early February, a fourth whistleblower came public, they described being “horrified” by the “abhorrent … mistreatment” of the inspectors. The new whistleblower also warned of a climate of intimidation designed to keep other staffers “frightened into silence.”
The deep flaws of the investigation
In the Grayzone article, “New leaks shatter OPCW’s attacks on Douma whistleblowers” Aaron Mate explained the serious flaws in the investigation:
In yet another highly dubious assertion, the OPCW inquiry claimed Henderson “did not have access to all of the information gathered by the FFM team, including witness interviews, laboratory results, and assessments by independent experts regarding the two cylinders—all of which became known to the team after [Henderson] had stopped providing support to the FFM investigation.”
But an important piece of context is missing from this salvo: by the time Henderson carried through on his study in summer 2018, he and other members of the FFM had already complained to the OPCW leadership that their findings were being manipulated and suppressed.
According to Henderson’s testimony, a draft interim report circulated in June 2018 was subjected to “‘last-minute unexpected modifications” that were “contrary to the consensus that had been reached within the team.” This included a change to “reflect a conclusion that chlorine had been released from cylinders,” which was not consistent with the findings at that stage. An intervention by one of the FFM team members, possibly Inspector B, forced FFM team leader Sami Barrek to revise the interim report before its eventual release on July 6 2018.
Despite agreeing to hear his team’s objections, Barrek personally blocked critical evidence that conflicted with the official story of Syrian government responsibility. One email chain revealed that Barrek resisted pleas from an inspector to include the relatively low levels of chemicals found in Douma. Alex, the anonymous second OPCW whistleblower, told journalist Jonathan Steele that chlorinated organic chemicals at the scene “were no higher than you would expect in any household environment.”
Another leaked document showed the OPCW had consulted with toxicologists in June 2018 to determine whether symptoms observed in victims were consistent with exposure to chlorine. According to minutes of that meeting, “the experts were conclusive in their statements that there was no correlation between symptoms and chlorine exposure.” But these critical findings, which dramatically undercut the official narrative, were inexplicably omitted from both the interim and final report.
Canada stands by the OPCW despite seriously flawed investigation
There are serious questions about the legitimacy of the OPCW’s report on Douma, Syria. The fact that Canada so aggressively supports the findings, is quite concerning. The final part of the statement reads:
“Canada fully supports the Investigation and Identification Team and stands by the legitimacy and credibility of its work. This report alone cannot possibly provide adequate closure to the victims of these abhorrent crimes. However, it is our hope that through continued support of the work of the OPCW and other such accountability efforts, Canada and its partners in the international community can work toward the realization of a world free of chemical weapons.”
Bashir al-Assad’s government is embroiled in a civil war, which has had devastating casualties on both sides. It is clear that they must take some responsibility for their actions. However, it is also clear that the OPCW report which accused the Syrian military of gas attacks against its own citizens, is questionable at best and shouldn’t be supported by the Canadian government.
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