‘Comical Sally’ returns to explain Hama massacre

Effective propaganda is an essential tool in any totalitarian regime's arsenal. In which case Syrians must be wondering why Reem Haddad, who was reportedly sacked as the head of the state TV network last month for her laughable attempts to play down the government's crackdown on anti-regime activists, was returned to the airwaves once more yesterday to explain what was 'really happening' in Hama.

Discussing the massacre that occurred yesterday in the Syrian city of Hama, Haddad re-iterated the government line that the army was merely going in to remove barricades erected in the road by "armed gangs".

"There are barricades and roadblocks everywhere," she said. "People can't go to work, they can't sit exams... it is simply not acceptable."

Despite reports of crackdowns on protests across Syria over the
weekend, Haddad also claimed that the incident in Hama was completely isolated. "It's as if it belongs to another planet," she added.

Haddad, who as the daughter of a Syrian diplomat speaks flawless English, became notorious in the West some months ago for her statements putting forward innocent explanations to explain away government brutality. But in June she was sacked as director of state news outlet Sana after telling Al Jazeera that the exodus of Syrian refugees into Turkey was "a bit like having a problem in your street, and your mum lives in the next street, so you go and
visit [her] for a bit".

She also flatly denied that any protests were occurring in Syria and when asked for proof of this, replied: "I know you have this 'eyewitness phenomenon' thing, but we have our cameras everywhere and we have seen no gathering."

Haddad was not out in the cold for long and has since been rehired as a government spokesperson.

Her comments have led many to nickname her 'Comical Sally', a
reference to the Iraqi information minister under Saddam Hussein. He was known as Comical Ali for his flagrant denial of any Iraqi defeats in the Iraq war, most memorably when he denied that the Americans had entered Baghdad even as live television broadcasts showed otherwise. ·