By David Blair World Last updated: August 7th, 2012 100 Comments
The government has got this under control, if you read Russian papers
I have a confession to make. I write about other countries all the time, but I speak no languages other than my mother tongue. Fortunately, we have an intern on the foreign desk, Nargiza Ryskulova, who is fluent in Russian.
Over the last couple of days, Nargiza has been looking at how the Russian media are covering the crisis in Syria. Here is what she has found:
By Nargiza Ryskulova
Russia’s stance on external intervention in Syria’s conflict is very clear. It is a definite ‘no’. Just as Western media headlines are filled with criticism of Russia’s position, so the Russian media takes a very different view of what is happening on the ground.
1) The Syrian prime minister: was he sacked or did he defect?
Riad Hijab, the former Syrian prime minister doesn’t look like a hero in the Russian media. His departure is portrayed simply as a consequence of him being sacked.
Russia Today, a government-funded satellite channel, quotes Syrian state TV to report that Hijab had been dismissed and fled the country shortly afterwards.
RIA Novosti, a Russian news agency, reports that Hijab ran away to Jordan. It highlights that he was sacked from his post before fleeing the country. Hijab’s stated reasons for leaving are not reported.
2) Is Damascus under control?
Russian state TV has a clear answer to this question. “Damascus is under full control of Syrian government forces,” reported their correspondent live from Damacus on August 5. The reporter interviewed local people in Tadamun, the last district of the capital to be recaptured from opposition forces.
The report concentrates on civilians killed by the rebels, quoting a local woman, who said: “I saw it myself, how people were taken to the edge of the pit, shot and dumped. Probably they have quarrelled with the Free Syrian Army.”
But the channel also mentions that she was “the only one to directly accuse the opposition forces”. Other people were more cautious, it says. They claim that “civilians were shot every day, almost for two weeks and only when the district was released from the opposition forces, the killings finally stopped”.
The correspondent quotes a Syrian general saying: “We cleared all parts of Damascus from the rebels. Tadamun was the last one. Rebels were outnumbered, however don’t be surprised if tomorrow they will declare that we didn’t beat them.”
3) Rebels or revolutionaries?
Overall, the Western and Russian media list the same facts and refer to the same news agencies. However they use very different terminology.
While the Western media refers to “opposition forces” and sometimes “revolutionaries” fighting Bashar-al-Assad’s regime, the Russian media persistently uses the term “povstansy”. This has a negative connotation and refers to armed groups trying to overthrow a lawful government.
The Russian media describes the events unfolding in Syria as an internal crisis. Western intervention is interpreted as taking the side of opposition forces, ultimately resolving the conflict in their favour.
The Russian position is described as an attempt at peaceful conflict resolution, justified by respect for Syria’s sovereignty. In short, the facts are all the same, but a completely different image appears as you read through Russian coverage of Syria, as if you are looking into a mirror, but the reflection is bent beyond recognition.
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