In UN return, veteran diplomats Hans von Sponeck and Lawrence Wilkerson confront OPCW Syria cover-up

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In remarks to the United Nations Security Council, two veteran, retired diplomats -- Hans von Sponeck of Germany and Lawrence Wilkerson of the US -- confront the OPCW and powerful state backers about the OPCW's Syria cover-up scandal.

Hans Von Sponeck is the former UN Assistant Secretary-General and UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq. He spent 32 years as a UN official, from 1958 to 2000, when he resigned in protest of the US-led sanctions on Iraq.

“The manner in which this serious controversy has been handled by OPCW management… has sought to cover up any serious questioning of the OPCW through stonewalling and unacceptable smear tactics,” Sponeck says. “The Security Council can not be surprised that there is increasing public pressure for UN leadership to find an unbiased resolution of this troubling controversy.”

Lawrence Wilkerson is a retired Army Colonel who served as Chief of Staff to Secretary State Colin Powell. In 2003, Wilkerson helped prepare Powell's infamous speech to the United Nations making the phony case for invading Iraq. Wilkerson has since renounced those Iraq war fabrications.

"This OPCW business really needs to get settled," Wilkerson says. "Here we have an egregious situation that from everything I can, really calls on people of concern to straighten it out."

Sponeck and Wilkerson are among the signatories of a Statement of Concern about the Douma scandal, joined by notable global voices including five former OPCW officials.

In a podcast-exclusive edition of Pushback, we hear both Sponeck and Wilkerson's UN comments.

Related:
At UN, Aaron Maté debunks OPCW’s Syria lies and confronts US, UK on cover-up
https://thegrayzone.com/2021/04/18/at-un-aaron-mate-debunks-opcws-syria-lies-and-confronts-us-uk-on-cover-up/