Posted January 29, 2014
by Jerry Alatalo
“All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers… Each one owes infinitely more to the human race than to the particular country in which he was born.”
– Francois de Salignac de La Mothe-Fenelon (1651-1715)
Talks continue in Switzerland at the Geneva II Peace Conference, with the goal to end over three years of war in Syria. In America there seems like very little coverage of the words spoken by the men and women attending the meeting on behalf of their home countries, although the conflict in Syria is the most devastating humanitarian crisis on Earth.
Some believe that every word spoken at Geneva II needs to be heard by the people of this Earth. Certain media organizations are covering the meeting as much as possible, broadcasting the views/speeches of each participant no matter what “side” they are on. Other media outfits have determined that broadcasting speakers from Geneva II is not where they want to go, perhaps because people wouldn’t tune in, or ratings would be low – hurting the business side of their news group(s).
In 2014, that is the way it is for news events and the chances for people to learn what is occurring.
It is puzzling to understand how Geneva II is not receiving all-encompassing coverage by news organizations around the world. There is no debate that Geneva II is the most important event occurring on this planet now. One is reminded of the week after week, wall to wall coverage of the O.J. Simpson case years ago. When one compares the Simpson media frenzy to the lack of coverage of Geneva II, some analysis of the reasons for this wide contrast of time devoted to these separate news events is in order.
Most significant is the difference in consequence between truths which may emerge from the reporting of these events. In the Simpson case there would be relatively little consequence for humanity whether Simpson became convicted or not. With regard to Geneva II and the war in Syria, the consequences are important for the entire human race. In other words, news organizations could be classified into different categories depending on their coverage of low or high consequence events.
Men and women in America and other nations have in recent years been turning away from news organizations which focus on low consequence events. The reason for this is that people are no longer satisfied with information from organizations which have decided to cover stories which have little or no relevance to the most important events on Earth. This is a trend that one can safely say will only continue, until those news outfits that cover low consequence events go extinct.
It is interesting to note that the following video of Syria Minister of Foreign Affairs Walid Muallem’s words at Geneva II were broadcast by Press TV, an Iranian media company. Press TV broadcasted the speeches of every participant at Geneva II without exception, no matter which “side” of the Syrian conflict the man or woman was on, or if neutral. The nation of Iran was originally invited, then disinvited, to Geneva II. Now, I am not one to take sides because I believe there is only one side – the human race.
For Geneva II to become successful in reaching its goal of peace in Syria full and frank discussions must take place, and the people of the world need to hear as much of those discussions as possible. Because the situation in Syria is the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, great effort needs to become exerted to create conditions for determining steps which will lead to peace and healing. This means that men and women must speak the truth as they know it to the best of their ability – it is the only way to fully communicate and understand the reasons for the war, and what it will take to end it.
Being an American it is not easy to post a speech by Mr. Muallem from Syria, who is at odds with the United States government. However, being a member of the human family compels one to see and hear every view held at Geneva II. Mr. Muallem is an older man who, given his determination to speak fully and forcefully at Geneva II, is worthy of listening to simply because he is representing the views of Syria’s government.
His pointing out that the Syrian opposition has committed heinous acts of unimaginable barbarity, while destroying schools, hospitals, churches, mosques, and food and medicine factories, will be debated, as to whether his very serious assertions are true or not. In the spirit of searching for the truth about Syria, and an unbiased wish for the truth to become known while letting the chips fall where they may, his speech is posted here.
The Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs talks about some very serious issues here, and makes some highly controversial allegations – which need to become addressed, either through disproving or explanation. He is speaking to the world from the largest courtroom on Earth. Mr. Muallem’s testimony from the witness stand is one which cannot be ignored, as mentioned, and has to be dealt with using the most mature, reasoned logic possible. His assertions are too large for any real journalistic organization to overlook.
It is up to the reader – as well as all news organizations of integrity – to decide whether Mr. Walid Muallem’s description of events in Syria are based on fact or fiction, and then how to proceed.
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(Thanks to Souria Ya Habibati @ YouTube)
THE ONENESS of HUMANITY 