Louisa Loveluck's story in the Washington Post is behind a paywall so I can't read it (part of it is here). She says, based on what refugees and 'activists' told her, that refugees returning to Syria are in danger from the regime.
I know very well that the Assad regime is very cruel but also know that press repeats rebel propaganda and the CIA line, as with the fall of Eastern Aleppo.
I'll try to find out more but it is very hard to discern the truth about the Middle East in the Western press.
This story and others like it seem clearly to have a purpose. Miss Loveluck says that she spoke to activists and I assume that the genesis of the story came from activists, as did the false stories CNN and the Economists told about Syrian soldiers going from door to door shooting people after the fall of Aleppo. David Miliband, who thankfully never became British Prime Minister, repeated that one.
A lot of other completely unsubstantiated claims about the government forces were made after the fall of Eastern Aleppo, by activists for rebels who are as adept at torture and murder as their enemy. The Western media simply repeated them uncritically. The Economist considered the loss of Eastern Aleppo by the rebels, many of whom were Al Qaeda, a tragedy for civilisation. In Paris they dimmed the lights on the Eiffel Tower.
I, with no axe to grind and no love for the Assads, somewhat hesitantly concluded that we were being told lies. Other people just believed the lies and still believe them.
Hundreds of Syrian refugees have been arrested after returning home as the war they fled winds down — then interrogated, forced to inform on close family members and in some cases tortured, say returnees and human rights monitors.I am sure, unfortunately, that some opponents of the Syrian government are mistreated or tortured, and especially if they were active on the rebel side, but according to UNHCR almost 1.5 million refugees returned to Syria in 2018. This is not a small number and strongly suggests that in general returning is not so dangerous.
I know very well that the Assad regime is very cruel but also know that press repeats rebel propaganda and the CIA line, as with the fall of Eastern Aleppo.
I'll try to find out more but it is very hard to discern the truth about the Middle East in the Western press.
This story and others like it seem clearly to have a purpose. Miss Loveluck says that she spoke to activists and I assume that the genesis of the story came from activists, as did the false stories CNN and the Economists told about Syrian soldiers going from door to door shooting people after the fall of Aleppo. David Miliband, who thankfully never became British Prime Minister, repeated that one.
A lot of other completely unsubstantiated claims about the government forces were made after the fall of Eastern Aleppo, by activists for rebels who are as adept at torture and murder as their enemy. The Western media simply repeated them uncritically. The Economist considered the loss of Eastern Aleppo by the rebels, many of whom were Al Qaeda, a tragedy for civilisation. In Paris they dimmed the lights on the Eiffel Tower.
I, with no axe to grind and no love for the Assads, somewhat hesitantly concluded that we were being told lies. Other people just believed the lies and still believe them.
please.. do all GO HOME... personally thought Assad seemed okay.. after all.. he IS the leader they chose..
ReplyDeleteThey should all go home and Trump should have brokered a deal whereby the refugees were assured of no ill consequences in return for the USA and UK staying out of Syria.
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