October 11, 2013

Update On Syria: HRW Turns Against Rebels, Turks Blamed For Growth of Jihad, Nobel Peace Prize Awarded To OPCW

Human Rights Watch: Yesterday we turned a blind eye to the crimes of the Jihadist terrorists, but, seasons change and opinions evolve, so today we brought out our media microscope.

Below is an excerpt from, "Syrian rebel fighters guilty of serious abuses, says Human Rights Watch" by Laura Smith-Spark and Saad Abedine, CNN, October 11, 2013.
The team collected the names of 190 civilians who were killed, including 57 women and at least 18 children and 14 elderly men, the report states.

"Given that many residents remain missing, and opposition fighters buried many bodies in mass graves, the total number of dead is likely higher," it said.

"Human Rights Watch has documented that opposition forces executed or unlawfully killed at least 67 of these 190 civilians even though they were unarmed and trying to flee."

Further investigation is needed to establish exactly how the other residents died, but the indications are that "most of these individuals were either intentionally or indiscriminately killed by opposition forces," it said.

The rights group calls on states with influence over the parties involved in the conflict to press them to bring a halt to attacks on civilians.
Below is an excerpt from, "Syria: Turkey Blamed For "Regime Change" Failure" by 'b' of Moon of Alabama, October 11, 2013.
Ten days ago the Guardian was the first "western" media to report on a massacre U.S supported insurgents and terrorists had committed back in August in Syria's Latakia governate. U.S. media did not follow up on this. But now Human Rights Watch, a U.S. influenced para-government organization which has intensely propagandized against the Syrian government, is publishing a report on Executions, Unlawful Killings, and Hostage Taking by Opposition Forces in Latakia Countryside.

 The fact that such a report is now published by HRW can be interpreted as a sign that U.S. policies on Syria are changing sides and will now, slowly slowly, turn against the insurgents and in favor of the Syrian government. While this will not yet change U.S. calls for "Assad must go" it is a significant change of the direction the winds are blowing. 
Below is an excerpt from, "Nobel highlights Syria with Peace Prize to chemical weapons watchdog" by Ben Brumfield and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN, October 11, 2013.
The Nobel Peace Prize has turned the global spotlight back on the conflict in Syria.

The prize committee in Oslo, Norway, awarded it Friday to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the international chemical weapons watchdog helping to eliminate the Syrian army's stockpiles of poison gas.

Its inspectors have just begun working in the active war zone, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee said it hopes the award offers "strong support" to them as they face arduous and life-threatening tasks.

But the OPCW did not receive the prize primarily because of its work in Syria, committee chairman Thorbjorn Jagland said. "It is because of its long-standing efforts to eliminate chemical weapons and that we are now about to reach the goal and do away with a whole category of weapons of mass destruction. That would be a great event in history, if we can achieve that."
Nobel Peace Prize 2013 goes to chemical weapons watchdog OPCW (recorded live feed). Source: Euronews. Date Published: October 11, 2013.