Thread by @aaronjmate

A big development in the OPCW's Syria cover-up scandal: a group of eminent signatories -- including *five* former OPCW officials -- call on the OPCW to stop suppressing the findings of the Douma probe and let the dissenting scientists air their concerns: couragefound.org/2021/03/statem…

Other signatories supporting the OPCW whistleblowers include ex-UN senior officials Denis Halliday & Hans von Sponeck; Noam Chomsky; Daniel Ellsberg; and Col. Lawrence Wilkerson.

To US media: how long will you continue to bury this scandal? cc @democracynow @TheIntercept

The OPCW "now stands accused of accepting unsubstantiated or possibly manipulated findings with the most serious geo-political and security implications."

"The inspectors’ concerns are shared by the first Director General of the OPCW, José Bustani, who was "prevented by key members of the Security Council from participating in a hearing on the Syrian dossier." More on that here: (thegrayzone.com/2020/10/18/ex-…) (thegrayzone.com/tag/jose-busta…)

This passage references the "worrying" recent Bellingcat scam exposed by The Grayzone, where Bellingcat published a fraudulent letter in a failed bid to smear one of the OPCW whistleblowers. thegrayzone.com/2020/10/28/dra…

Then comes the "even more alarming" episode from the BBC's @chloehadj, whose falsehood-ridden podcast Mayday cited an anonymous OPCW source to attack the whistleblowers & ex-OPCW chief Jose Bustani. Curiously, BBC recycled Bellingcat's debunked claims. 🤔 thegrayzone.com/2020/11/30/que…

"Importantly, recent leaks in December 2020 have evidenced that a number of senior OPCW officials were supportive of one OPCW inspector who had spoken out with respect to malpractice." Those leaks are here: thegrayzone.com/2020/12/07/opc…

"The issue at hand threatens to severely damage the reputation and credibility of the OPCW and undermine its vital role in the pursuit of international peace and security."

"It is simply not tenable for a scientific organization such as the OPCW to refuse to respond openly to the criticisms and concerns of its own scientists whilst being associated with attempts to discredit and smear those scientists."

Signatories below. Highlighting the ex-OPCW officials because A) it's hugely significant that they are speaking out & B) it takes courage. As we've seen -- and as an anonymous OPCW official told me -- dissenting OPCW voices have been intimidated. thegrayzone.com/2020/03/12/opc…

For a summary of this story: thenation.com/article/world/…

A lot more here: thegrayzone.com/category/opcw-…