Video: Syria’s Jaafari calls U.N. official a ‘lunatic’

The Syrian government’s representative at the United Nations, Bashar Jaafari, publicly attacked the High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, calling her a “lunatic” and saying that she has a “biased reading” of the Syrian crisis.

During her briefing to the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday, Pillay said the atrocities committed by the Syrian regime “far outweigh” those of the opposition, before adding that the Syrian government was “mostly responsible” for the human rights offenses which had taken place over the course of the war.

Since the beginning of Syria’s uprising in March 2011, Pillay has pushed for the Syrian government to be prosecuted by the ICC. However, Russia and China, both permanent veto-wielding council members, shielded Damascus from serious sanctions.

“This is really an awful situation coming from the high commissioner for human rights, she’s acting irresponsibly, she’s going beyond her mandate, and she is not protecting human rights,” Jaafari said, following Pillay’s briefing.

The top official attacked Pillay personally, calling her a “lunatic,” and accused her of neglecting human rights offenses committed by foreign fighters, takfirist groups, and terrorists in Kassab and other areas, as well as neglecting a media report and an audio recording he claimed confirms Turkey’s involvement in Syria.

U.S. and Turkey both rejected the report written by Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh, claiming that Syrian rebels, aided by Turkish intelligence, had carried out a chemical attack to provoke Washington into taking action against Syria’s Assad regime.

“She did not mention any word with regard the Turkish government’s involvement in this terrorist activities, whether in Kassab or in other areas,” Jaafari said.

He continued his accusations saying: “She has become an integral part of this orchestrated campaign by some influential members in the council, to exert pressure on the Syrian government.

“So no wonder that France, Britain and USA delegations called on her to come today to be an integral part of this orchestrated campaign of pressure on my government,” he added.

This month’s holder of the rotating council presidency, Nigerian Ambassador U. Joy Ogwu, noted that the council remains deadlocked on a referral to the International Criminal Court.