By now you would have almost certainly heard about the "humanitarian flotilla" en route to the Gaza Strip, and attacked by the Israelli military. As with all of these fracas and conflicts, the first casualty is often the truth.
We opened the week with condemnation from Turkey, which is where the flotilla started from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/10199480.stm
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called the incident "murder committed by a state" and said Israel had "lost all legitimacy".
There are of course lots of factors in play here. If in fact the flotilla was purely humanitarian in nature, then this was essentially an act of state terrorism by Israel, if if wasn't then perhaps there's an element of justification for it.
The problem is that the destination of Gaza is controlled by Hamas. Hamas has in as many words as one of its objectives, the destruction of Israel.
http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/880818a.htm
On the Destruction of Israel:
"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."
(Preamble)
Because of this, you then have to question whether or not this actually was in fact a "humanitarian flotilla". However, that in itself is difficult to determine.
The group which organised it is called the İnsani Yardım Vakfı or in English, The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief. It gets it's short name from its German name Internationale Humanitäre Hilfsorganisation, or IHH.
The big problem is of course a question of whether or not the IHH is in fact a legitimate organisation. Even the AP makes mention of this, but only in passing:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i4FlVwMgaQcImeSQwTKnGrH2VZUAD9G3CKJO0
The largest flotilla by far, it was dominated not by Free Gaza, which sent only one small passenger boat, but by three ships sent by an Islamic aid group from Turkey, the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedom and Humanitarian Relief. The group, known by its Turkish acronym IHH, was banned by Israel in 2008 because of alleged ties to Hamas.
However, the IHH itself has been identified has either being a para-terrorist organisation, or at very least having links or being tied to them:
http://www.diis.dk/graphics/Publications/WP2006/DIIS%20WP%202006-7.web.pdf
Turkish authorities began their own domestic criminal investigation of IHH as early as December 1997, when sources revealed that leaders of IHH were purchasing automatic weapons from other regional Islamic militant groups.
IHH’s bureau in Istanbul was thoroughly searched, and its local officers were arrested. Security forces uncovered an array of disturbing items, including firearms, explosives, bomb-making instructions, and a “jihad flag.” After analyzing seized IHH documents, Turkish authorities concluded that “detained members of IHH were going to fight in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Chechnya.”
I'd like to preface this with saying that the following is WMG - "Wild Mass Guessing" on my part:
I'm beginning to suspect that this whole debacle is really in effect, a political message designed to justify the "Islamification" of what is otherwise secularist Turkey.
Remember, the current president of Turkey is none other than Abdullah Gul who was elected back in 2007.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6966216.stm
Turkey's military chief warned on Monday that "centres of evil" were trying to undermine the state. Gen Yasar Buyukanit did not name those he said were "trying to corrode the secular nature of the Turkish Republic."
But analysts said the statement was clearly aimed at Mr Gul, a devout Muslim.
Turkey's military and secular establishment suspect he might harbour a secret Islamist agenda.
What better way would there be to justify moves away from secularism, when you can claim victim status in all of this? Plus, it's really easy to demonise Israel when most of the Islamic world already hates them.
Of course the poor people who suffer through all of this are the people of Gaza themselves. I'm sure that a great deal of them are jack of both Israel and Hamas and would rather that everything just stop and they can get on with their lives.
People are after all people. Every single person has been endowed by their creator with dignity and is individually valuable. Whether or not you agree that there is a creator is entirely a separate issue, but the fact remains that throughout all of this, there are real people on the ground who are suffering.
If there is political grandstanding from Turkey, Israel, the world's media, Palestine, Hamas or whoever else has turned this into a farce, it should be stopped. Damn the lot of them!
People are hurting and dying. Put up, shut up, and help them. You are all a cussing disgrace!
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