ID :
185562
Tue, 05/31/2011 - 12:17
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/185562
The shortlink copeid
Turks hold rally in homage to victims of botched humanitarian mission for Gaza
ISTANBUL, May 31 (KUNA) -- Some 30,000 Turks have held a demonstration in this ancient city marking the first anniversary of the humanitarian mission for Gaza that was aborted with a deadly Israeli assault on the activists at sea.
The Turkish relief authority organized a rally at Al-Taqseem Square, in the heart of the bustling city, attended by families of the nine Turks who had been killed in the Israeli airborne attack on the naval convoy off the shores of Gaza.
Bulent Yildrim, the head of the philanthropic agency, said in an address to the attendees that the authority would organize another naval relief mission to aid the besieged Gazans. "If you attack again, we will remain at sea for days and create an international issue," he said, addressing the Israeli authorities.
He confirmed plans for dispatching the second such humanitarian expedition to Gaza, tentatively in June, despite Israeli warning and international pressure.
The new flotilla will consist of 15 ships, boarding 1,500 activists from more than 100 states, Yildrim said, adding that 22 relief organizations and groups from various countries would be involved in the mission for breaking the siege on Gaza.
The demonstrators condemned the Israeli attack that targeted the Turkish ship, Mavi Marmara, in late May last year. Nine Turkish volunteers were killed in the Israeli attack, a development that led to serious strains in Tel Aviv's ties with Ankara.
Meanwhile, the CNN reported that a moment of silence was held for the nine activists who died in the Israeli raids, on the first anniversary of the aborted mission.
Mavi Marmara -- owned by the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation, or IHH -- and five other ships were on their way to Gaza carrying humanitarian aid and about 700 activists from various countries when Israeli soldiers swarmed aboard it in international waters on the night of May 30-31, 2010.
Eight Turks and one American of Turkish origin died. Istanbul pulled its ambassador from Israel after the incident and the post has remained vacant.
The Turkish relief authority organized a rally at Al-Taqseem Square, in the heart of the bustling city, attended by families of the nine Turks who had been killed in the Israeli airborne attack on the naval convoy off the shores of Gaza.
Bulent Yildrim, the head of the philanthropic agency, said in an address to the attendees that the authority would organize another naval relief mission to aid the besieged Gazans. "If you attack again, we will remain at sea for days and create an international issue," he said, addressing the Israeli authorities.
He confirmed plans for dispatching the second such humanitarian expedition to Gaza, tentatively in June, despite Israeli warning and international pressure.
The new flotilla will consist of 15 ships, boarding 1,500 activists from more than 100 states, Yildrim said, adding that 22 relief organizations and groups from various countries would be involved in the mission for breaking the siege on Gaza.
The demonstrators condemned the Israeli attack that targeted the Turkish ship, Mavi Marmara, in late May last year. Nine Turkish volunteers were killed in the Israeli attack, a development that led to serious strains in Tel Aviv's ties with Ankara.
Meanwhile, the CNN reported that a moment of silence was held for the nine activists who died in the Israeli raids, on the first anniversary of the aborted mission.
Mavi Marmara -- owned by the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation, or IHH -- and five other ships were on their way to Gaza carrying humanitarian aid and about 700 activists from various countries when Israeli soldiers swarmed aboard it in international waters on the night of May 30-31, 2010.
Eight Turks and one American of Turkish origin died. Istanbul pulled its ambassador from Israel after the incident and the post has remained vacant.
