FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION
An article from RT news dated 28 December
The refusal of almost every Western media outlet to cover the leaks [published by Wikileaks] implicating the chemical weapons watchdog of doctoring its Syria report has become ridiculous, says a journalist who was barred from reporting it by Newsweek.
A damaged house where OPCW inspectors are believed to have visited in Douma in April 2018. ©REUTERS / Ali Hashisho
The refusal of almost every Western media outlet to cover the leaks [published by Wikileaks] implicating the chemical weapons watchdog of doctoring its Syria report has become ridiculous, says a journalist who was barred from reporting it by Newsweek.
“These documents are very conclusive in what they show,” Tareq Haddad told RT after the latest release of internal emails from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Friday. The latest batch indicated an effort by the OPCW management to silence dissenting voices and cover up the very fact that there was evidence contradicting the West-favored narrative about the April 2018 incident in Douma, Syria.
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Free flow of information, How is it important for a culture of peace?
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The OPCW report stopped short of accusing the government of President Bashar Assad of dropping chemical weapons on the Damascus neighborhood, which was held by jihadists at the time, and killing scores of civilians. It gave a post-factum rationale for airstrikes conducted by the US, the UK and France in the wake of the incident.
He told RT the point when the story could be legitimately reported came several weeks ago, so the continued media obfuscation “has reached the point where it’s a bit ridiculous,” and amounts to abdication of responsibility to inform the public.
“I’m sure there are hundreds if not thousands of well-meaning journalists, who understand what the essence of journalism is. I am sure they want to write this story,” he said. “All I can say is: please, push this story. Even though I have resigned I don’t want the mainstream media to be dismissed as ‘fake news’. I want it to be respected.”
[Editor’s note: As of 31 December, a search in Google reveals many Internet publications have referred to the reports published in Twitter by Wikileaks about the OPCW cover-up. These include publications based in Russia, Iran, Turkey, Lebanon and Portugal, as well as numerous alternative media (but no major commercial media) based in the UK, Canada and USA.]