Russian envoy slams WHO for recklessly releasing dubious information on Douma incident

Is the World Health Organization part of the group trying to trigger the World War III? Why are they increasing the tension at this moment without providing any proof?

Is this a standard now? To accuse Russia and Syria of doing something without providing anything to back up its claims?

Here's their statement about the attack.

Despite you like Putin and Assad or not, there are some people being irresponsible and disseminating information that doesn't match with what actually happened.

GENEVA, April 12. /TASS/. Members of the World Health Organization (WHO) exhibited a lack of responsibility when they released allegations that almost 500 people asked for medical help in the Syrian city of Douma on April 7 with symptoms of poisoning. These actions by the WHO employees only serve to egg on those powers that are stoking the conflict in Syria, said Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, in a conversation with TASS.

Gatilov regarded the WHO’s statement as a serious one, highlighting that "it was made right when Syria had experienced a new uptick in tensions."

"We all have been hearing about the possibility of American strikes and the emergence of such a statement plays into the hands of those who strive for a scenario involving the use of force in Syria," the diplomat noted. "We consider it unacceptable."

"We reached out to WHO’s employees in charge and demanded that they present concrete sources of information on which this statement was based. Furthermore, [we] asked them to name the so-called healthcare partners that the WHO is referring to and to provide information on which specific medical facilities these almost 500 affected people turned to, who counted them and who made the diagnoses." "According to the information we possess, these ‘partners’ are none other than the representatives of the notorious White Helmets organization," Gatilov said.

Then again the WHs are mentioned. Known by their abilities of performing Hollywood productions.

"We regard all this as a flagrantly reckless dissemination of unsubstantiated information," Gatilov stressed.

A number of NGOs, including the White Helmets, stated that chemical weapons were used in Eastern Ghouta on April 7. The Russian Foreign Ministry slammed this report as fake news. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the White Helmets are an unreliable source of information and are notorious for disseminating falsified material. Representatives from the Russian Reconciliation Center for the Opposing Sides examined Douma on April 9, and found no trace of any use of chemical weapons there.

Russia and Syria have already invited experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to visit Douma in order to investigate the incident. OPCW reported that it would soon send a special mission to the site and asked the Syrian authorities to prepare for the visit.

What a world we're living in... Who do we believe?

Yesterday, OPCW announced that The Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will hold a special meeting on April 16 to discuss the Syria situation, Russia’s OPCW Permanent Mission announced on Wednesday.

Do you think we'll be alive by then to see the results?



TASS

Also on the WHO website:

Note to editors

Since 2012 there have been sporadic reports of chemical events in Syria. WHO has no formal role in the forensic investigation of the use of chemical weapons. When an event is reported, WHO’s role is to conduct epidemiological investigations and implement public health emergency response measures, as necessary. Prior to an event, WHO helps to put in place preparedness measures to ensure that needed medical supplies are on hand, and health workers are prepared, protected, trained and equipped to respond. WHO has been engaged in public health preparedness for chemical weapons use in Syria since 2012, when the first reports of their use emerged.

- WHO maintains strategic stocks of protective equipment for healthcare workers and antidotes that have been distributed alongside training to reference hospitals inside Syria.

- Over 800 Syrian clinicians have received advanced chemical training from WHO hubs in Damascus and Gaziantep, including 80 clinicians in northern Syria in the last quarter of 2017.

- Since 2014, antidote for nerve agents has been distributed in WHO shipments. In 2017 inter-agency convoys to besieged areas of rural Damascus, including Douma, have also included atropine, an essential medicine for nerve agent treatment. No antidote for chlorine or blister agents exists, and treatment is symptomatic.

- Beginning in June 2017, WHO started shipping medical kits to northern Syria for comprehensive treatment of chemical exposures. The kits include atropine, oximes, salbutamol, and other medicines.

- In 2017, WHO prepositioned and distributed 1,500 sets of Personal Protective Equipment at reference hospitals. In 2014, WHO also distributed 450 escape hoods to NGOs providing health services across Syria

- In areas that are inaccessible to WHO, we work alongside NGO partners to provide technical expertise and guidance, including through remote technical support and operational plans developed with and implemented by partners.

- In view of the substantial risks to humanitarian staff in Syria, WHO issued self-protection advice publically and standard operating procedures to its staff.

For further information, please contact
Tarik Jasarevic
WHO Department of Communications
Mobile: + 41 79 367 62 14
Telephone: + 41 22 791 50 99
Email: [email protected]

Then basically they receive their information from the White Helmets again. I'm emailing this Tarik guy asking if there's any document available with information about the analysis they've made on the alleged patients. They also reported that "more than 70 people sheltering in basements have reportedly died". Where can I get information about these people? Names? Anything else than that?

Let's see...

a reply to: vinifalou

I found this little tidbit to be very interesting....

Talk of a U.S. attack on Syria is part of a“psychological war meant to project power that the West has lost,” Bouthaina Shaaban, Assad’s media and political adviser, said in an interview late Wednesday with Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen TV. She predicted the showdown would end with a diplomatic settlement, and accused Israel of instigating the confrontation.

Assad’s victory in the seven-year civil war “will change the map of the region,” and the “biggest loser” will be Israel, she said.

Bloomberg

Once again, I feel as if the true motives are being silenced while the western world parades around outrage of chemical weapons.

Not to say that chemical weapons are not heinous, but to act as if our military response wouldn't result in 40 or more dead just as the alleged attack is optimistic to say the least.

At the end of the day, will it be different if they die from "collateral damage", or chlorine?

Once again though, there is evidence to show the western world willing to allocate resources and lives on the behalf of Israel... Seems to be a one way road.

I would star and flag this a million times if I could. Thank you for this valuable information. Hopefully this gets to some decision makers quickly.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Very interesting, indeed. If they're blaming Israel after this I won't be surprised.

And I think the difference between the allegedly chemical attack and the US striking Syria is that they'll be focusing on military, not civilians. At least that's me being optimistic.

Now, the problem is too many finger-pointing and zero evidences to substantiate it.

Yep, nice job OP and thanks for the info. It is absolutely unbelievable everyone from the Leaders of the Allied countries to the talking heads on TV is pushing for war without any proof at all. I think the only person I've seen ask questions was Tucker Carlson and even after he questioned it, was immediately called crazy by his colleagues on all the other networks.

I made a Twitter account just to send a tweet to Trump to pull out the troops and don't listen to the warmongers trying to profit off of death and destruction, but my Tweet was removed within 20 minutes. The war lobby is in full force.

a reply to: vinifalou

And I think the difference between the allegedly chemical attack and the US striking Syria is that they'll be focusing on military, not civilians.

Agreed, but the key word is focus, something the US (my country) struggles with.

Assuming we were successful in that endeavor, the ramifications of actions would still evoke action from other actors likely costing civilian life.

My point being, if our mission is to protect civilians, recent history would point to our best action being inaction.

Case studies to support would be Iraq, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan just to name a few.

We could go ask them how their quality of life or freedom has improved since our intervention, but I think we all already know the answer.

a reply to: vinifalou

Russia made an interesting comment about this that really made no sense. Russia said they would support a UN resolution to investigate the chemical weapons attack but ONLY if the people investigating are prohibited from assigning blame.

Russia / Syria said no chemical weapons were used so naturally any team that investigates will find no signs of chemical weapons use.

Yet they want an investigation where the investigators cant assign blame if chemical weapons were used.

How does that even make sense.

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: vinifalou

How does that even make sense.

It doesn't

Just guessing, but maybe to avoid a conflict of interest. Especially knowing our intelligence agencies in the western countries. I'd want their findings to be displayed to a board and evaluated before any blame is assigned. Maybe that is what's happening who knows...just my 2 cents.

Reply to Xcathdra

a reply to: vinifalou

Well, if you choose to believe TASS over the WHO.....!!!!!

TASS Wiki

a reply to: vinifalou

You certainly don't believe a word coming out of any Western source. They don't even know they're lying it's al a spiders web of deceit started from the top behind the scenes. My government has screwed over just about every people / nation on Planet Earth from Aborigines to Zulus all in the game of murder and theft of resources. I aint falling for WMD whatever bull# again, they can # off this time

a reply to: Xcathdra

It doesn't make sense for us, but I think that with all the recent false flags being attributed to them, they are just being more cautious now. I'd do that.

Also, if the US is so certain that there was an attack and that Russia and Syria are responsible, why don't wait for the OPCW investigation to launch an attack? If they do before that, they'll just lose all credibility. It won't make sense either.

a reply to: ufoorbhunter

I would believe if there was an independent investigation and the results released for public domain.

This "Russians did it, we don't have proofs and/or we have and won't share, so you'll just have to believe us" narrative is getting old.

And yea, the US doesn't have a good history too. We can ask Iraq about that.

Article from a year ago in the Independent:

The end is nigh for the World Health Organisation

The journal Nature has been most vocal, damning the WHO’s “cumbersome structure” and adding that the organisation, “far from being omnipotent and all-powerful… would benefit from trying to be a little less of both”.

Others have recently claimed that the WHO has lost authority, is “thinly stretched”, “not functioning well” and worse. 

Much dates back to its poor response to the Ebola outbreak of April 2014, when it took until August to declare a global emergency, compounded by an underwhelming response to the 2009-10 H1N1 flu pandemic and latterly an underreaction to the health problems in the wake of the civil war in Syria.

There’s also a notion afoot that the WHO has moved from being a global health ambassador to a pernickety lifestyle watcher

Faced with a growing number of organisations in global health governance, the WHO has lost its supremacy

a reply to: vinifalou


How is the OPCW going to be able to carry out a meaningful investigation with the area being controlled by Syrian govt forces and the Russians. Do you not think they might have done a bit of a clean up operation?

originally posted by: oldcarpy
a reply to: vinifalou

Well, if you choose to believe TASS over the WHO.....!!!!!

TASS Wiki

Actually what TASS said is pretty common knowledge, the WHO said things that they can't prove, increasing tensions without providing any information to back its claims. And if they are indeed receiving this information from the White Helmets, then yes, I'd choose to believe TASS over the WHO.

a reply to: vinifalou


OK, if you want to swallow Russian state sponsored propaganda hook, line and sinker (and rolled up copy of the Angling Times) that is one hell 0of a blinkered attitude.

originally posted by: Ophiuchus 13

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: vinifalou

How does that even make sense.

It doesn't

and now we hvae a statement from China saying the west needs to give Assad time to explain what happened.

wtf is going on.

a reply to: oldcarpy

OPCW Will Deploy Fact-Finding Mission to Douma, Syria