Dr Tim Anderson

Here is Dr Tim Anderson's letter in support of Mr Jay Tharappel, an anti-war academic gagged from speaking out against the visit of U.S. Republican Senator John McCain, a supporter of the terrorist invasion of Syria, to Sydney University.

Anti-war academic Jay Tharappel - a tutor and doctoral student - has been gagged by an effective ‘secret social media police’ group set up at the University of Sydney, to monitor public comments by staff involved in controversy.

This extraordinary development began with an anonymous leak from University management to the Daily Telegraph that Jay was “under investigation” for a “racially charged social media attack”. The tabloid ran a front page story (11 April) vilifying the young academic. He found about his employer’s investigation through the Daily Telegraph’s smear story. That front page story would not have occurred had university management not helped create it.

A week later, when Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) Dean Annamarie Jagose did press misconduct charges, she swore the casual tutor to secrecy.

The Daily Telegraph story formed part of a torrent of abuse, mostly from News Limited media, against organisers of our successful conference ‘After the War on Syria’, which took place on 18-19 April at Sydney University. The conference was seen as pro-Syria and anti-war, while virtually all the corporate and state media backed Trump’s 6 April missile strike on Syria. In fact media attacks helped swell attendance at the successful conference, video of which is online here:

https://counter-hegemonic-studies.net/…/syria-conference-2…/ (Link appears to be broken (31/5/2017) - Ed)

The Murdoch media through repeated abuse of us (“Sarin Gasbag”, “Pro-Assad Boffin”, “Uni loonies”, “genocide slur”) tried to pressure the university to act against the conference and its organisers. Jay’s comments were in response to two of these crusading journalists.

Dean Jagose’s 20 April letter to Jay, after the conference, cited several of his posts and the University’s code of conduct. However it did not detail any particular imputations, as is normally required in civil law. Rather it called for his ‘defence’, while demanding that nothing of the inquiry be made public.

Jay, myself and an NTEU union representative urged that Dean Jagose state specific imputations (the University’s Enterprise Agreement states that ‘the staff member will be provided with allegations in sufficient detail to ensure that they have a reasonable opportunity to respond’) but she refused. She also refused to release any detail of complaints that had been made against Jay to the university. Jay was left to present a ‘defence’ without any detailed knowledge of what had been alleged against him.

There was no hearing. In her 17 May ‘outcomes’ letter Dean Jagose found ‘misconduct’ proven, but gave only a little more detail.

Jay’s criticism of journalist Kylar Loussikian (his surname indicates Armenian heritage) was that he was a ‘traitor’ to Armenians for backing the missile attack on Syria. Historically, Syria provided refuge to Armenians, after the genocide under the Ottoman Empire. Dean Jagose, however, wrongly claimed Jay’s criticism was “on the basis of” his ethnicity. In his criticism of Fairfax journalist Michael Koziol, Jay had used the word “pathetic”, because Koziol had quoted him out of context. Dean Jagose also regarded this as a form of misconduct.

The FASS Dean concluded there was ‘misconduct’, but not ‘serious misconduct’, and issued a ‘warning’. However the sting was in the tail. Any similar indication of lack of “respect, impartiality, courtesy and sensitivity” to the public would lead to “further Disciplinary Action, up to and potentially including the termination of your employment”. A regime of “appropriate monitoring” would be set up to police this threat.

Further, Dean Jagose added, “this matter is confidential” and he was “directed to refrain from disclosing [it] to anyone … the University takes the need of confidentiality very seriously, and reserves the right to take disciplinary action if you fail to adhere to this direction.” The star chamber was to remain hidden.

However I was sent a copy of this letter and I did not agree to any such confidentiality. The abuse of process under this secret regime deserves to see the light of day.

University of Sydney management clearly colluded with the Daily Telegraph to smear a young academic in their care – even though he is only employed three hours a week – and then set about trying to gag him. As the initial ‘findings’ were based on such flimsy grounds, it appears likely the secret monitoring group is ready to jump on almost any conflictual interaction by staff with powerful media groups.

Meanwhile Murdoch journalists are no doubt waiting with baited breath for another chance to smear. What a shameful exercise and breach of trust by university management.

Here are links to John McCain in photos with individuals linked to terrorists groups:

John McCain Illegally Travels To Syria, Meets With Leaders And Fighting Groups; No Criticism From MSM (24/2/2017) by Brandon Turbeville | Activist Post

See also: Australia Rolls out the Red Carpet for Arizona Reptile John McCain (1/6/17) | Russia Insider, The Dirty War on Syria: Dr Anderson Reveals the "Unspoken Truth"(6/6/2016) by Dr Tim Anderson | Global Research, The malignant consensus on Syria(19/9/2012) by Dr Tim Anderson | The Conversation, The war on Syria has never been a civil war(22/6/2018) by Dr Tim Anderson | Khameini.ir, 'Look a bit more closely': White Helmets Oscar win under fire(28/2/2017) by by Hashela Kumarawansa | SBS, Manchester allleged suicide bomber linked to Libya Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), Known to British Security & Intelligence. LIFG was supported by NATO against Gadaffi (24/5/2017) by Tony Cartalucci | Globall Research.

Pro-government rally, Damascus, March 2011

By Tim Anderson and Mazen al-Akhras. First published on Global Research, 1 Feb 2014. See also Tim Anderson on Syria - Two interviews: Channel 7 bias and the Real Deal, 23 Jan 2014 by Sheila Newman. Dr Tim Anderson shows how the group 'Human Rights Watch', far from upholding human rights around the world, has, instead, by falsely claiming that governments, such as the Syrian and Venezuelan governments, are guilty of human rights abuses, has provided fraudulent casüs bellorum for the United States government to wage war against the people of these countries. In Syria's case up to 130,000, according to one estimate, have died since March 2011 as a consequence.

The Washington-based group 'Human Rights Watch' – controlled by the US foreign policy elite – has released another volley in its campaign to back the 'humanitarian war' being waged against the independent nation of Syria.

This is not the first or second fabrication against Syria run by Human Rights Watch. The group was amongst the first to falsely blame the Syrian government for the East Ghouta chemical weapons incident of August 2013. The 'moral panic' from that accusation almost sparked a major escalation of the war.

Several reports have since proven that the accusation was a fraud. A group led by Catholic nun Mother Agnes Mariam produced a report showing the video evidence of the incident had been manipulated and staged; US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh showed that US intelligence implicating the Syrian Government had been fabricated; and the New York Times retracted its support for speculative telemetry evidence, which they had claimed implicated the Syrian Army. On the other side, Syrian witnesses, a Jordanian reporter and a Turkish human rights group ('Peace Association and Lawyers for Justice in Turkey') implicated Saudi-backed terrorists. Further, the last UN report on the incident says that, in most instances, chemical weapons were used 'against soldiers'; that is, against the government. HRW has neither retracted nor apologised for its role in this scam.

The latest HRW story ('Razed to the Ground', 30 Jan) is that the Syrian Government over 2012-13 demolished residential buildings in seven areas of Hama and Damascus as 'punishment' for certain neighbourhoods supporting 'the rebels'. Thousands of families lost their homes in this way, yet there have been 'no similar demolitions in areas that support the government'.

HRW said it 'has not documented that anybody was injured or killed in the process.' Nevertheless, the use of home demolition as punishment was 'a violation … of the laws of war' and amounts to a war crime. HRW 'calls on the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court'.

Of course, this claim will go nowhere, as previous more serious provocations have failed at the UNSC. Yet the HRW report adds to a poisoned climate of vilification and intervention, appearing to add moral logic to arming the sectarian groups. Yet propaganda for war is a war crime, in itself.

Syrian NDF soldier and political analyst Mazen al-Akhras points out that videos associated with the HRW report show the presence of anti-government 'militants' as witnesses (just as in East Ghouta), tainting the story at the outset. The HRW report does not observe that areas like Tadamon had been crowded with illegal constructions and, when they were damaged during the conflict, the government decided it more efficient to demolish and rebuild.

HRW does not mention that the government took the decision, many months ago, to compensate 'all citizens whose houses were damaged or totally destroyed by the conflict'. Al-Akhras says HRW ignores the compensation already paid, and then pretends to 'demand' compensation. His full commentary is below.

The BBC, which has played a key role in relaying and amplifying propaganda for war on Syria, promoted this 'Razed to the Ground' story. An earlier notable contribution by the BBC was to help cover up the terrorist murder of Syria's most senior Muslim cleric, Sheikh Mohamad al Bouti. He and fifty others were murdered inside the al Iman mosque on 21 March 2013 by a suicide bomber from the al Qaeda-linked and Saudi-backed Jabhat al Nusra.

Because Sheikh Bouti had always opposed salafist sectarians, the armed sectarian gangs ('takfiris') said he was 'not a real Sunni' and called for his death. After they murdered him they celebrated and then, in typical fashion, blamed the Government.

Jim Muir of the BBC picked up the al Nusra scam, based on the fact that the Sheikh did not die instantly, to run claims that he had been killed by some other means. Nevertheless, in December 2013, five members of al Nusra confessed on Syrian television to the murders. Al Nusra cleric, Samir al-Ordoni, had given them religious permission to enter the mosque and kill other Muslims.

The BBC also gave full prominence to a more recent stunt put on by the oil monarchy of Qatar, a major funder of sectarian Islamist fighters. On the eve of the Geneva 2 peace talks, they promoted a report by three British lawyers, hired by Qatar, which pronounced the Syrian Government guilty of 'torture and 11,000 executions'. The lawyers had gone to Qatar to interview one man, who said he had not witnessed any torture or murder, but gave them thousands of photos of dead bodies. They examined some of these photos and made some extravagant statements. Yet with such tainted evidence, who knows where the bodies came from or who killed them?

Human Rights Watch has been a key player in the manufacture of propaganda for war and foreign intervention. It gets most of its funds from a variety of US foundations, in turn funded by many of the biggest US corporations. HRW Middle East reports often rely on and acknowledge grants from pro-Israel foundations. The group is tightly linked to the US Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a virtual 'Who's Who' of the US foreign policy elite.

HRW has 'soft-pedalled' on US-compliant regimes such as Colombia, the worst human rights abuser in Latin America as shown by the murder of trade unionists, journalists and other social activists. By contrast, HRW repeatedly attacked the government of the late Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.

The group has always had a political agenda. According to José Miguel Vivanco, director of the group's Americas division, its December 2008 report on Venezuela ('A Decade under Chavez'), was written 'because we wanted to demonstrate to the world that Venezuela is not a model for anyone'. That report was roundly criticized by more than a hundred academics for not meeting 'even the most minimal standards of scholarship, impartiality, accuracy of credibility'. Rather than a careful report on human rights, it was an attempt to discredit a government, mainly on the basis of allegations of 'political discrimination' in employment and the judiciary. The evidence was poor and the approach anything but systematic. HRW disregarded this criticism.

Mazen al-Akhras from Damascus. Comments on HRW's "Razed to the Ground" Story

'Before we were evacuated due to the military conflict in November 2012 I was a resident of Harasta, one of the eastern suburbs of Damascus, and the closest to Duma, which in turn, is the stronghold of the anti-government forces in the outer suburbs of Damascus.

'Harasta is adjacent to the freeway connection Damascus to the north (Damascus-Aleppo freeway), and can be seen by eye while travelling, and it can be also monitored by Satellite images. And like many other towns around Damascus, Harasta had its share of demonstrations and battles. And although it was considered the second stronghold for the anti-government forces in the eastern Ghouta, Harasta has not witnessed anything similar to the accusations in HRW's report.

'There are several other examples of the same situation around Damascus like Al-Tal, Zabadani and Qudsaia, and if one goes a bit further to the north, such alleged demolitions mentioned in HRW's report did not take place in Nabk, or in Qara (Kara).

Even in Qussair, demolitions were limited to the results of the battles that happened there, and once the fighting stopped, there was no act of demolition or destruction. Quite the opposite, the government rushed to restore electricity and water and other public services to the city, while putting reconstruction works into action where they were possible.

'One might need to be reminded that Qussair was not just a city that opposed the government, it was also the strongest stronghold for the militias opposing the Army in mid-west Syria.

'All these examples and many others are actual real-life proof that the government is not "punishing" areas for supporting the insurgency like HRW's report claims.

Now, to the videos, they show no sign or indication of the places they were filmed, and one can argue many details about the ID of the militants showing in the second part of the video.

'While HRW's report maliciously wonders why other areas of illegally-constructed residences have not been demolished, and assuming (with the same malicious ill-will) that it's because the areas are Pro-Assad, they fail to mention that these areas already provide shelter and refuge for thousands of families who have evacuated their areas because of still ongoing battles, including those areas that are being demolished. So, in other words, they are simply wondering why the Syrian government doesn't kick those refugees (again) from the safe areas, along with thousands more of families who were originally in these areas. Of course such wondering is acceptable for them because doubling the numbers of homeless families inside Damascus (or any other city in Syria) poses no discomfort on their dead consciences.

'Any resident of Damascus knows that Tadamon (among many other areas) is a crowded area of illegally constructed residences, and that the Syrian government has been trying for years to organize it, and now with all the battles-caused destruction, it is very difficult and expensive to just renovate the area, making it easier and cheaper for the government to bring down the rest of the area and then reconstruct it in an organized way, eventually guaranteeing the residents to go back to healthier and better shaped area.

'That itself is something else HRW's report failed to mention, and this time it's not by mistake, they deliberately chose to ignore the simple fact that the Syrian government had already decided and announced they would be compensating all citizens whose houses were damaged or totally destroyed in the conflict, and that was many months before HRW made their report and "demanded" what the Syrian government had already granted.

'Mashaa Al-Arbaeen in Hama (as anyone can inquire and verify) is nearly the same as Tadamon, only with worse official documentation of property.

'So, to sum it all up: many areas, towns and cities are a living proof that the government is not "punishing" anybody. Yet, HRW issues a report about a governmental plan of reorganizing some areas of illegally-constructed residences that are already damaged because of the battles, then HRW twists that plan into an alleged "punishment", because the plan does not – yet – include other areas (although those areas were not in the conflict and were not damaged, and demolishing them now will double the numbers of homeless families in Damascus, which will also include the families that were evacuated the first time), and to add insult to the injury, HRW ignores the compensations granted and promised by the government to the Syrian citizens and choses to "demand" those compensations.'

References

Inside, two interviews with Dr Tim Anderson, Sydney academic, on Syria. The first is by Channel 7 on 24 January 2014 and shows incredible bias. The second is by Journalist Joshua Blakeney, who interviewed Anderson and Hands Off Syria's Jasmine Saadat about their recent visit to Syria where they met with Syrian officials including the President of Syria Bashar al-Assad. The interview was conducted at a time when the pro-war Australian press was attempting to discredit members of Hands Off Syria Australia for meeting with members of the Syrian government. See inside for videos.

This is supplied to readers of candobetter.net in order to balance Channel 7's ridiculously biased interview with Tim Anderson, which you may access here.

The second (larger picture) is the link to the longer and more intelligent interview.

The interview was recorded on January 12, 2014 and can be found archived on The Real Deal radio show's blog: http://radiofetzer.blogspot.ca

This is a fascinating video of a huge protest in Sydney on 5 August 2012 and we have put up a video of it with a number of interesting interviews from marchers, with comments from what they think of the Bashar Assad Government to how they don't like the Australian Greens policy on this matter and believe that we are risking World War Three by backing intervention in Syria. There is also some background on how Syria has been the long-term host one of the largest refugee populations in the world, which makes you wonder why it doesn't receive more support from Greens and Refugee activists. It must seem ironic that some candobetter.net EcoMalthusians are more inclined to give Syria that recognition! Please let us know if you have views on the democratic status of the Syrian government; we find it hard to judge. All comments and greetings welcome.

See also: Australians for Syria.

The video of this march also contains commentaries and is the product and published by Truth News with Reporter Hereward Fenton, who interviewed Naja (a Syrian Australian), Tim Anderson, and John Burgess (of the 911 truth movement). Thanks for your work at Truth News.

"On 5 August 2012 a rally was held in Sydney in support of the Syrian government by members of the Syrian community and Australians. Some four thousand people gathered peacefully at The Sydney Town Hall to express solidarity about the tragedy in Syria. A number of speakers, from various sections of the community, addressed the audience concerning the external forces that have invaded Syria and are fighting the [...][1]government. The people then marched peacefully to The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs in the Sydney city area, where more speakers addressed the people. Appreciation for Russia and China voting against the US proposed UN-NATO involvement were expressed. The meeting then peacefully dispersed." (Source: Commentary under video on Truth News)

Naja, Syrian-Australian protester speaks

Naja, a Syrian-Australian protester said,

"I would just like to say one thing to the Australian Government. The Syrian president - 75% of the people elected him and only the Syrian people can impeach him. I just want to say another thing, that Barack Obama ought to go back home. Hands off Syria! We just need to raise our voice and we're sticking with the President! ... He is a very popular leader, he's a doctor and he studied in England. He doesn't kill his people. We've got militants in Syria. They're terrorists. They're not free Syrian army. They're killing people. I've got my family back home. They're kidnapping people. After they kill them, they amputate their body parts and they send them home to - bodies without heads, without arms - and we've got to put a stop to it. We want him to stay in power. That's my message. "

Tim Anderson spoke powerfully on behalf of the Syrian Government

"People in this country are very ignorant of what's going on in Syria. That's understandable. That's not a crime in itself, but, what is not acceptable is the unethical use of this ignorance. All of those people from Hilary Clinton through the media through all sorts of silly people in this country - those people saying Assad must go - they have no ethical basis to make that sort of claim. They haven't understood that it's the foundation of the post colonial era, it's the foundation of human rights that a people have a right to self-determination and the Syrian Government is only for the Syrian people and no-one else. We see the result across the border in Iraq. What a tragedy in Iraq. What a great tragedy in Iraq! But we can't allow that to happen in your country. So I'm here just to say as a non-Syrian Australian, at least some of us here are in solidarity with you today."

Tim Anderson, author of Take Two, The Criminal Justice System revisited has the remarkable history of having been completely exonerated after erroneous conviction for the Hilton Bombing in 1978 (Fraser Government). The real perpetrators have never been found. Evidence that Australian security forces may have been responsible [in a false flag attack] led to the New South Wales parliament unanimously calling for an inquiry in 1991[1] and 1995.[2] The Government of Australia vetoed any inquiry. You can read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Hilton_bombing or here in an pdf file at http://www.reasoninrevolt.net.au/pdf/a000803.pdf with an interview of Anderson published in July 1991 that contains some very interesting comments on Asio and Special Branch activities in NSW leading up to this time.

Tony Backhouse on Australian Greens policy on Libya and Syria

Tony was also marching. Interviewed by Truth News, he said that he had originally joined the Greens because of their stance on Iraq and policy of peace and non-violence, which is a platform of the NSW branch constitution, but he has just resigned from them over their support for UN Nato intervention in Syria. He stated, "I see this as akin to starting World War Three in Syria. I find it totally hypocritical and that's why I've left."

Tony said that, to him, it seems this position was taken initially by Bob Brown and then by Christine Milne (NSW) and Adam Bandt (in Victoria) and that perhaps the Federal Greens are falling into line with the European Greens. It was what had been going on in Aleppo that got him to make his mind up. He added that he nearly left the Greens over their position on Libya especially after Gaddafi's house was bombed and his granddaughter and other members of Gaddafi's family were killed. He noticed in the week of this Australians for Syria protest in Sydney that Leon Panetta [23rd and current United States Secretary of Defense] had actually threatened Assad's family: "And I thought, this is just ridiculous. I can't support this. I mean, my party is supporting a military intervention basically in Syria against their own constitution!"

Commentary on Democracy, Refugees and the Australian Greens - Please contribute if you can

The beginning of this article was taken from Truth News and we left out these words, [1] "elected democratic." Whilst we support non-intervention in Syria and basically support the current government, we disagree that the Bashar Asaad Government was elected democratically, since there was no opposition. Maybe we are wrong. Please educate us. You can read more about the Syrian government here. Nonetheless we agree that Bashar seems to be a very popular president and Syria did recently hold a very well supported referendum in which Syrians voted yes for to have multiparty government recently, to remove the constitutional definition of the B'aath Party as the ruling party of Syria, and to limit the time a person could remain president to 14 years.

Bashar Asaad himself seems to be pretty enlightened in a terrible region where colonial intervention has from the 19th century consistently preferred dictators and continuously reduced the self-organising ability of peoples. Bashar Asaad's father was a more severe dictator but, still, his people were provided for, in an area where there are far worse, far more brutal dictatorships. To illustrate the unbalanced basis of foreign intervention encouraging civil war in Syria, the Western powers currently include Saudi Arabia as their ally against the Syrian Government. This is not just ironic, but it is shocking, because the Saudi Government is incontestably depraved, yet able to get away literally with murder, mutilation, suppression of subjects and shocking, institutionalised, bizarre ill-treatment and disenfranchisement - enslavement really - of women. It is truly unacceptable that the United States and NATO hob-nob with this monarchy. There has to be a better and more globally cooperative way to power down with oil than this.

With regard to the Syrian Government, a Syrian-based Catholic nun recently said,

I am not Syrian, but I have been living in Syria for today almost 20 years. Syria was under a kind of totalitarian regime but not in only a way a repressive way but it was that all the decision would be taken by few persons. But there was security, there was food, education and people were living - of course not in ... kind that they would say their thinking in a loud voice.

Now, this totalitarianism is not good, and it's obsolete, but if the armed insurrection is implementing another totalitarianism which is maybe worse because there is blood, they can behead you, they can cut your - in last week in our village they cut the fingers of a so-called 'collaborator', who is not ev[en] from the village. Then they behead him, they cut him in piece and they left him in the street, where even children would see it.

So this kinds of acts of atrocities cannot help people to really believe that what is happening is a strive for freedom.

The majority of the Syrian population, I say, is taken as hostage, and sometimes as a tool, as [?enemy] by these armed, insurrection armed...armed insurrection people. They come and they take place in the civilian areas.

Australians, particularly Greens and Refugee Action supporters, logically should be speaking out in support of Syria which has taken in and managed to deal fairly with an extraordinary number of refugees and asylum seekers from this tumultuous region where, bizarrely, the Greens have been supporting NATO backing for civil war.

According to the 2012 UNHCR country operations profile on the Syrian Arab Republic,

The Syrian Arab Republic hosts one of the largest urban refugee and asylum-seeker populations in the world. The Government and people of the Syrian Arab Republic continue to maintain a generous open door policy that allows Iraqi refugees to seek asylum and gain access to basic services such as education and primary health care. Moreover, the normalization of relations between Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic in early 2011 has led to a simplification of the visa process for Iraqis wishing to enter the Syrian Arab Republic.

UNHCR, with the support of the international community and in active partnership with the Syrian authorities, was able to maintain the protection space granted to refugees and asylum-seekers. With the assistance of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, it has continued to provide them with essential services and assistance. Source: http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486a76.html

If nothing else, the counter-intuitive stance on Syria of the Greens is yet another indication that the people leading the Greens these days are career politicians with ideas and principles a very long way from the original participants and founders of Green Party's in Australia. As to where Bob Brown stands or ever stood... some of us do wonder. For those among us who care about our country and realise that overpopulation will quickly deprive us of ecological conditions and human rights, it is baffling that the Greens, who have so let us down in matters of ecology and population policy, do not stand up for Syria and its generosity to refugees.