IHH Pulls Out Of "Freedom Flotilla 2" due to technical problems

Friday June 17, 2011 21:30 by Kevin Murphy - IMEMC & Agencies

The Turkish Organisation IHH has said that its ship, the Mavi Marmara, will not be taking part in the upcoming Freedom Flotilla 2 because of technical problems with its ship.

The Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) has said it will not be participating in the upcoming “Freedom Flotilla 2” due to technical problems with the Mavi Marmara, which did not receive approval from Turkish port authorities.

The organization’s participation had been cast in doubt since statements in recent days that it was reviewing the situation in Syria and the Egypt- Gaza Rafah border crossing before making a final decision.

The Flotilla, due to sail on the 25th of June to break the Israeli siege on Gaza, will continue without the Turkish contingent, according to organizers. IHH Chairman Bolant Yilderim said that the IHH non participation would call into question the Israeli-promoted idea that the flotilla was an “Islamist plot”, as the IHH was the only group involved in the flotilla that is affiliated with Islam in any way.

The flotilla will be made up of ten ships from different countries including Spain, Canada, Greece and France. Its numbers, however, will be halved from 1000 to 500 as a result of the Turkish pull out.

The Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, had put pressure on the Mavi Marmara to pull out of the planned trip fearing a repeat of the killings of nine aid workers by Israeli forces, who attacked last year’s “Freedom Flotilla” in international waters.

UN General Secretary Ban Ki Moon had also encouraged country leaders to prevent ships from joining the flotilla.

international | gaza siege | news report