La communication de Bachar al-Assad se résume à un tissu de mensonges

Quotations from Bachar al Assad come from its interviews to the BBC (9 February) and France-2-TV (20 April).

Quotations from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (“CoI”) come from its 9th Report (A/HRC/28/69, dated 5 February 2015, and published on 20 February 2015). The Commission was established on 22 August 2011 by the United Nations Human Rights Council.

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1) About the peaceful origin of the conflict in 2011

What B. al-Assad says: “We took the decision to fight terrorism from the very beginning (…). Some still talk about that period as “peaceful-demonstration period” and I will tell you that during the first few weeks, many policemen were killed, shot dead. (…) From the very beginning, the demonstrations weren’t peaceful” (BBC).
“Actually, since the first few weeks of the conflict, the terrorists infiltrated the situation in Syria with the support of Western countries and regional countries, and they started attacking the civilians and destroying public places, public properties and private properties, and that’s documented on the internet, by them, not by us. ” (France2).

What the CoI says: As protests erupted in Dara’a city in March 2011, government forces opened fire on demonstrators. The situation has degenerated from legitimate popular aspirations into a conflagration of an unparalleled scale and magnitude (§134). The murder and torture of civilian residents and captured armed individuals formed part of the earliest ground attacks. By 2012, as the country moved towards civil war, government forces had committed a number of mass killings of civilians during ground assaults (§ 6 to 8). Since the start of the unrest in Syria in March 2011, Government forces, notably agents of its security and intelligence agencies, have tortured and ill-treated men, women and children in their custody (Annex II, §129).

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2) Crimes against civilians and accountability of their perpetrators

What B. al-Assad says: “Some mistakes were committed towards some civilians, that happened from time to time, and some people were punished for these mistakes” (BBC).

What the CoI says:

  The Commission has collected numerous accounts of torture and deaths in custody in government prisons across Syria occurring between March 2011 and January 2015, supporting its finding of the crime against humanity of torture and murder. The widespread and systematic use of torture was documented in multiple facilities in Damascus (…).The collected information indicates the existence of a State policy implemented across governorates (§73).

  The Government has continued to perpetrate torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against a civilian population, indicating the existence of a State policy. The Government has therefore, as previously found, committed torture and other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity. This conduct is also prosecutable as the war crimes of torture and inhuman treatment. (Annex II, §155).

  Government forces perpetrated massacres and unlawful killings as part of a widespread attack directed against the civilian population. (..). The coordination and active participation of Government institutions indicated that the attacks were conducted as a matter of institutional policy. The massacres and unlawful killings formed part of those attacks and constitute crimes against humanity. Government forces also committed the war crime of murder. The massacres and unlawful killings formed part of those attacks and constitute crimes against humanity. Government forces also committed the war crime of murder. (Annex II, §57- 58).

  The Syrian authorities have demonstrated their unwillingness to bring perpetrators to justice (§138) and continue to commit these crimes with impunity. Members of intelligence agencies and their military and civilian superiors failing to prevent and punish these crimes can be held individually criminally liable for the conduct described above. (Annex II, §157).

  As part of this widespread attack on the civilian population, government forces have perpetrated murder, torture, rape and acts of enforced disappearance. (§48-49). Civilians have been deliberately targeted and killed by Government forces during military attacks. Indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks by Government forces have also contributed significantly to civilian casualties. (Annex II, §47).

  Government forces continue to disregard their international legal obligations to refrain from attacking cultural objects and sites and to not use them for military purposes. In continuing to use the Aleppo Citadel, a World Heritage site, as a military base to bombard the Old City of Aleppo, the Government has endangered the site and disregarded Security Council Resolution 2139, adopted on 22 February 2014 (Annex II, §256).

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3) About the international character of the conflict

What B. al-Assad says : “(…) For us, it’s about being independent, to work for our interest, to work for the common interest of others, but we’ll never be puppets who work against our interests for their interests. (..) We didn’t start this conflict with the others. They started, they supported terrorists, they gave them the umbrella (…)”. (BBC)

What the CoI says: Throughout the duration of the violence in the Syrian Arab Republic, government forces have relied on paramilitary groups and militias; initially the shabbiha, and now the National Defence Force. It has benefited from the intervention of foreign fighters, including Hizbullah and Iraqi Shia militias. (§16)

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4) About the roots of extremism and violence along religious lines

What B. al-Assad says: What they called the so-called moderate opposition, was a fantasy. (…) Even in the Western media outlets, they are talking about the ISIS, and al-Nusra, and Al Qaeda affiliates, organizations and groups prevailing. It doesn’t happen suddenly. It’s illogical, unrealistic to suddenly shift from moderate to extremist. They have the same grassroots. (BBC)

What the CoI says: Whether subjected to violations by government forces or ISIS, the evidence collected indicates that Sunni Muslim men are disproportionately overrepresented among the victims in the Syrian conflict (§58). The circumstances of many of the arrests indicate that they were conducted on discriminatory grounds, such as the religious or geographic origin of persons. (Annex II, §106)

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5) About Syrian forces using barrel bombs, dropped from helicopters

What B. al-Assad says: “I know about the army. They use bullets, missiles, and bombs. (..) There are no indiscriminate weapons. When you shoot, you aim, and when you aim, you aim at terrorists in order to protect civilians.(…) There are no barrel bombs.(..) We don’t have barrels.” (BBC) – “We never heard in our army of indiscriminate killing weapons (…)We have regular bombs, regular armaments. (…) In our army we only use regular bombs that could be targeted. So, we don’t have any armament that could be shelled indiscriminately. (…) Why to kill indiscriminately? Why to kill the civilians? The war in Syria is about winning the hearts of the people; it’s not about killing people.” (France2)

What the CoI says:

  The Government’s use of indiscriminate shelling and aerial bombardment has been informed by its use of a variety of weaponry. The Government began hostilities by employing artillery shells, mortars and rockets against restive and sometimes besieged areas. By mid 2012, the use of cluster munitions, thermobaric bombs and missiles was documented, often used against civilian objectives, such as schools and hospitals. The Government has also used incendiary weapons (§13).

  The use of barrel bombs in aerial campaigns against whole areas is in violation of international humanitarian law and in some cases, amounts to the war crime of targeting civilians. Government forces have systematically targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure, demonstrating the intent to kill, wound and maim. Targets have included markets, shops, hospitals, schools, and public spaces where civilians gather in large numbers (Annex II, §228).

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6) About responsibilities of the attacks and the “legitimate” us of force

What B. al-Assad says: “We’ve been attacked in Damascus and in Aleppo, we’ve been attacked by rebels, not vice versa. They’ve been attacking the Syrians with mortars, so you have to retaliate and defend your people”. “Your question is about asking us to stop fulfilling our duty to defend our people against the terrorists? Of course [that’s legitimate use of force]”.(BBC)

What the CoI says:

  As protests erupted in Dara’a city in March 2011, government forces opened fire on demonstrators. As the protests spread across the country, they were met with a violent, often lethal response from the Government. (§6) ;

  The Government’s aerial attacks, directed at civilians, are consistent with the Government forces’ counterinsurgency strategy. Employed since 2012, the strategy includes creating conditions of life so unbearable that the civilian population living in armed-group-controlled areas displace, eroding possible bases of supporting for the groups. (§13 annex II on “Massacres”).

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7) About chemical attacks, in particular the use of chlorine gas by Syrian army helicopters

What B. al-Assad says: “No, definitely not. (…) Chlorine gas exists in any factory, in any house in Syria, in anywhere in the world. It’s not a military material. (..)Second, if you want to use gas as a WMD, you have to talk about thousands or maybe tens of thousands of victims in a few hours. That didn’t happen in Syria”. (BBC) – “This is another fake narrative by the Western governments. Why? Because we have two factories of chlorine. One of them is closed for a few years now, it’s not used anyway, and the other one is in the northern part in Syria, (…) it’s on the Turkish border, it’s under the control of the terrorists for two years (…). So, the chlorine in Syria is under the control of the rebels. This is first. Second, it’s not a weapon of mass destruction. The regular armaments that we have are more influential than chlorine, so we don’t need it anyway.(..) We didn’t use it. We don’t need to use it. We have our regular armaments, and we could achieve our goals without it. So, we don’t use it. No, there’s no proof.” (France2)

What the CoI says: In April 2014, the Government dropped barrel bombs containing chemical agents, likely chlorine, on locations in Idlib and Hama governorates. The first attributed finding of use of chemical weapons by a warring party was noted, but did not spur greater action to end the conflict (§ 15).

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8) About the “starve or surrender” military tactics of the Syrian Army.

What B. al-Assad says: “That’s not correct for one reason, because in most of the areas where the rebels took over, the civilians fled and came to our areas, so in most of the areas that we encircle and attack are only militants”. (BBC)

What the CoI says: The mainstays of government attacks on restive areas have remained static. They include (a) the encirclement of an area, including the setting up of checkpoints at all access points; (b) the imposition of a siege, including preventing the flow of food, medical supplies, and sometimes water and electricity, into the town or area; (c) the shelling and aerial bombardment of the besieged area; (d) the arrest, and often disappearance, of wounded persons attempting to leave the besieged area to seek medical treatment no longer available inside and of those attempting to break the siege, usually by smuggling in food and medical supplies. Victims have often described the Government’s strategy as that of “tansheef al bakhar”, or draining the sea to kill the fish. Over the past four years, the Government has implemented this strategy with relative consistency. The sieges imposed by the Government have become longer and, consequently, more harsh. (…) Residents of Yarmouk camp in Damascus city have been besieged since May 2013. Infants have died as a result the Government’s “surrender or starve” siege strategy. (§ 10 and 11).

  The Government’s aerial attacks, directed at civilians, are consistent with the Government forces’ counterinsurgency strategy. Employed since 2012, the strategy includes creating conditions of life so unbearable that the civilian population living in armed-group-controlled areas displace, eroding possible bases of supporting for the groups. (§13 annex II on “Massacres”).

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9) About the shelling of schools by the Syrian regime

What B. al-Assad says: “No, definitely not (…). What is the aim of shelling schools, realistically? Why would a government shell a school? What do we gain from that? Again, it’s different between having casualties during the war, because that’s a war, and every war in the world has these side effects, and between aiming at schools. That’s the big difference. There’s no way to aim at schools”. (BBC)

What the CoI says: Government forces attack schools in the context of their military operations. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, 160 children were killed in attacks on schools in 2014. Regular armed forces have also used schools for military purposes, depriving children of education and exposing educational facilities to attack. (§68).

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10) About the killing of students and children

What B. al-Assad says: “Why do you want us to kill students and children? What do we get?” (BBC)

What the CoI says:

  Intelligence and security agencies have detained young children since 2011. Held in the same cells as adults, children are exposed to sexual violence and subjected to the same ill-treatment and torture as adult detainees. In detention, children have also witnessed violent torture and death. (§66)

  As the unrest developed into an armed conflict, government forces began to use children as part of coordinated military operations to locate armed group fighters prior to attack or act as informants, exposing them to retaliation and punishment. (§67);

  The presence of children was documented in Military Security Branch 235, known as the Palestine Branch, and in the Air Force Intelligence Branch in Mezzeh military airport (Damascus), detention facilities in which torture is systematically employed. (..). A 5-year-old child [has] been detained and tortured with his mother in several different Government detention facilities, including Branch 248 in Kafr Sousa (Annex II, §195).

  The failure of the Syrian authorities to protect children from the effects of conflict has resulted in a devastating level of displacement of children. In targeting schools and failing to take precautions in attacks to minimize harm to children and schools has led to a significant loss of access to education among Syrian children, while indiscriminate attacks continue to maim and kill children on a massive scale. In detaining children and exposing them to ill-treatment and torture in detention facilities, Syrian authorities, including the military, security and intelligence agencies, have violated children’s human rights and the rules of international humanitarian law, amounting to war crimes. They have perpetrated crimes against humanity, entailing individual criminal responsibility for the direct perpetrators of crimes and their authors at the highest levels of the chain of command, including the highest levels of Government. (Annex II, §196).