EP.756: Chris Williamson- How Can We TRUST the OPCW After Syria Chemical Attack Leaks?!

On this episode of Going Underground, we firstly speak to Chris Williamson MP on Labour’s victory in the Peterborough by-election, the OPCW Syria leaks which implicate the militants, not Assad in the Douma chemical attack, British bombing of Syria and more. Next we speak to the Syrian Network for Human Rights’ Fadel Abdul Ghani on allegations of Syrian government bombardment of civilian areas, how any moderate rebels can still exist when they are fighting alongside Hayyat Tahrir Al-Sham, escalating tensions in Idlib and more. Finally we speak to Aleppo MP Fares Shehabi on the claims of the Syrian government targeting civilian infrastructure such as places of worship and hospitals which he labels lies, rocket attacks and terror attacks by the militants against Syrian civilians and the situation in Idlib.

STATEMENT FROM THE TURKISH EMBASSY:

We strongly reject all these baseless allegations.

Turkey has never had and will never have territorial claims over Syria. We want to see our neighbour Syria become a stable, peaceful, prosperous and democratic country that is governed in line with the legitimate aspirations of its people, preserving its political unity and territorial integrity.

However, Turkey, who has long been the victim of numerous terrorist attacks by Al-Qaeda, DEASH and PKK as well as its Syrian branch PYD/YPG, is determined to fight against these terrorist organizations operating within Syria to protect its national security. This is the sole reason of Turkish presence in Syria. Today, Turkey, an active member of the Global Coalition against DEASH, is the only country that put its own troops in harm’s way to confront DEASH on the ground.

Propagators of these baseless accusations are spreading such falsities because they could neither slaughter the civilian population in Idlib in masses, nor force legitimate Syrian opposition there to flee to Turkey and other European countries, thanks to the Sochi Memorandum that was signed between Turkey and Russia in September 2018 to de-escalate the situation in Idlib and avoid further bloodshed along with a humanitarian catastrophe.

Now, those propagators attempt to overshadow Turkey’s positive role in Syria. We do not expect them to trust Turkey. We only hope that they will trust their own people and make a genuine effort to advance the political process. ”