biased from baghdad: iraqi observers in syria tell protestors to give up
The Iraqi government recently sent 33 locals to be part of the Arab League’s monitoring mission in Syria. But just like the mission itself, the Iraqi participants have been considered controversial - and even biased toward Syria’s leaders.
It seems that the 33 observers sent to Syria by the Iraqi government to take part in the Arab League’s controversial monitoring mission there will remain, by and large, shadowy figures. And it also seems that what they actually did in Syria will also remain a mystery.
The Iraqi government says that observers are property qualified for the job. But critics of the government’s initiative say the observers are all members of one political party, that they take their orders directly from the Iraqi executive and that they actually support the current Syrian regime, headed by President Bashar al-Assad, which has come under fire for its brutal repression of civilian protests.
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Other evidence for this exists in the form of an amateur video posted on YouTube. The video shows some of the Arab League observers telling protestors that: “there are some evil people among you … as well as those who have infiltrated your group and who are trying to sabotage and distort your reputation”. Judging by the dialect, it seems those commenting were members of the Iraqi contingent.
http://www.niqash.org/articles/?id=2987