Mavi Marmara may wait a little longer as IHH considers backing away from its resolve to send a second flotilla to Gaza, due to the developments in Syria.
Huseyin Oruc, a board member of the IHH and the spokesman for the new flotilla, told Hurriyet Daily News, yesterday, “We are reconsidering our plans. We cannot close our eyes to the developments on our doorstep. Our goal is not to just have a voyage to Gaza. We think we can serve our purpose by sending a ship, or by cancelling it. We’ll make our decision by the end of this week”.
“Twenty-two vessels from different countries, including the Mavi Marmara, are set to meet in international waters close to the southern parts of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus on June 27 before sailing to Gaza, according to the initial plans. The international activists involved in the new flotilla will meet in Athens this weekend”, Oruc said, and added, “We will discuss the emerging conditions. Every country has its own balances. From our point of view, the developments in neighboring Syria are critically important.”
Oruc said, “We are reconsidering our plans. The international community is talking about an intervention in Syria, a development that would affect Turkey very much, as well as Palestine and peace in the region. All the factors are inter-linked and we must be looking at all of them”.
The IHH insists that the Turkish government did not interfere in the flotilla plans, but FM Davutoglu’s recent call to the group to reconsider sending a ship to Gaza is believed to have had an influence on their current position.
According to Hurriyet’s report of today, IHH denied the news in its twitter page and said that the flotilla would depart as planned (on June 27).
Source: Hurriyet Daily News, Hurriyet, June 14-15, 2011
