« SYRIA PRESS REVIEW » #48

Westerners looking for a "Plan B"

At the forefront of the international stage, Turkey has called for the creation of a group of "Friends of Democratic Syria," modeled on the "Contact Group for Libya," while the Italian press ruminates over the possibilities of NATO indirect intervention. However, if such action were to take place, it would violate international law in the wake of the double veto Russia and China, and will therefore probably be discussed in secret.

Behind the scenes, there is another activity going on. The Russian delegation to Damascus has underwritten a secret agreement between several actors. According to our sources, the release of a certain number of Turkish prisoners of war and Iranian civilian hostages has been obtained. In return, Turkey would refrain from intervening in Syria and Iran would stop supporting rebel groups in Turkey.

The war plan against Syria having been frustrated, the West is seeking an alternative strategy. But already, some states have pulled out of the game.

Two instances of disinformation are worth mentioning:

• A report by Doctors Without Boders records fifteen testimonials from patients and doctors accusing the security forces of preventing the insurgents from receiving medical care, of amputating them arbitrarily or torturing them.
In its introduction, MSF acknowledges that it was unable to check these allegations, but published them anyway because they describe recurring situations.
Now, the Arab League observers, who attempted to cross-check analogous testimonies, have reached the conclusion that they are unfounded.
If Le Monde treats the MSF report with caution, Libération makes it its headline story.

• Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (London office of the Muslim Brotherhood) claims that 18 babies died in incubators at the Al-Walid hospital in Homs (see, for example, ABC or Diario de Noticias).
This is the repetition of the famous hoax set up by the PR firm Hill & Knowlton, with the help of the Kuwaiti Ambassador’s daughter in Washington and Amnesty International to justify Operation Desert Storm (October 10, 1990 hearing before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus).