Int’l group of pro-Palestinian activists sail from Turkey to Gaza aboard two boats
An international group of pro-Palestinian activists has set sail from Turkey aboard two boats aiming to run an Israeli naval blockade of Gaza, organisers said on Wednesday. The 27 activists on board the vessels are drawn from Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United States, and included Palestinians.
“The Canadian ship Tahrir and Irish ship Saoirse have successfully reached international waters, initiating “Freedom Wave to Gaza”. The boats have embarked from Turkey and are on the Mediterranean Sea,” the organisers from Ustogaza group said in an e-mailed statement.
Israel’s military had no immediate comment.
The latest challenge to Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian enclave comes during a period of heightened tension in the eastern Mediterranean.
Turkey was angered by Israel’s refusal to apologise for the killing of nine Turks when Israeli commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara aid vessel 2010.
It was also disappointed by the conclusions released in August of a UN inquiry into the incident, and has increased its naval presence in the Eastern Mediterranean.
A Turkish foreign ministry official confirmed that two boats had set sail from Turkey’s southern coast, having asked for permission to go to the Greek island of Rhodes.
The official said the vessels were not Turkish-flagged, had no Turkish passengers and the captains were not Turkish.
Activists tried to send another flotilla to Gaza in June, but all nine vessels were stopped.
They were intercepted or stopped from leaving port, suffered suspicious damage before sailing, or pulled out amid speculation that their organisers had succumbed to political pressure.
The Irish ship Saoirse was one of the vessels that was damaged before it could set sail then. Paul Murphy, a socialist member of the European Parliament, was among the activists on board the Saoirse this time too.
“This ship to Gaza is another response to the call from people within Gaza to try to break the siege they suffer under,” Murphy wrote in a blog posted on the Internet.
The Ustogaza statement quoted several Americans on board the Tahrir.
“We carry inspiration from the Arab Spring and the worldwide “Occupy” movements that are demanding freedom and justice. Where governments fail, civil society must act. As Americans we are fed up with our government’s unquestioning support of Israel no matter how violent, illegal and oppressive its actions,” said Ann Wright, described in the statement as a former US army officer and diplomat.
02 November 2011
SOURCE: TODAYS ZAMAN
