UN launches flotilla attack probe

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137185§ionid=351020202


UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says that a committee will begin its investigation of Israel's deadly attack against a Gaza-bound aid convoy this month.

The panel will begin its work on August 10, three months after the May 31 assault, in which nine Turkish peace activists of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla were killed by Israeli commandos in international waters.

"I sincerely hope that this will greatly, positively contribute to the peace process as well as improvement of relations between Israel and Turkey," Ban said on Monday.

The UN chief added that the panel would submit the first progress report by mid September.

The panel will be led by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer as the chairman, and outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe as the vice chairman.

A Turkish and an Israeli were also in the panel.

Meanwhile, Israel announced on Monday that it would cooperate with the UN committee, despite its earlier opposition.

The Tel Aviv regime had rejected calls for an international independent investigation into the commando assault, and launched an internal probe of the attack.

Turkey's intelligence chief irks Israel

Hakan Fidan, the new head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137089§ionid=351020202


Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has expressed concern over Turkey's appointment of its new secret service chief whom he called a "supporter" of Iran.

According to AFP, the Turkish official, Hakan Fidan, 42, has been appointed to head the National Intelligence Organization, known by its Turkish acronym MIT, on May 27 after serving as undersecretary for foreign affairs to the prime minister and representing Turkey at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The latter position placed him at the forefront of Turkey's efforts to resolve the international standoff over Iran's nuclear program, according to the Turkish press.

"Turkey is a friendly country, a strategic ally, but the nomination in recent weeks of a new chief of the Turkish secret services who is a supporter of Iran worries us," he told in a private meeting of his center-left Labor party.

Barak, in a recording of his remarks broadcast by Army Radio on Sunday, claimed that the appointment could result in "the Iranians having access to secret information."

Israel is annoyed by its erstwhile strategic partner's efforts to solve Iran's nuclear issue through diplomatic efforts, especially a declaration it signed with Iran and Brazil in May that would have seen Iran ship 1,200 kg of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for fuel for the medical research reactor in Tehran.

Turkish-Israeli relations plunged to an all-time low and their ties are effectively frozen following the deadly May 31 Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in which naval commandos shot dead nine Turkish activists, one of whom was also a US citizen.

UN names flotilla inquiry panel

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/07/2010723142931310192.html

The United Nations Human Rights Council has appointed a team to investigate Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May.

The team will consist of three independent experts: Sir Desmond de Silva of Britain, Karl Hudson-Phillips of Trinidad and Tobago, and Mary Shanth Dairiam of Malaysia, the UN body said on Friday.

The council voted to establish the inquiry in June, after nine Turkish activists were killed when Israeli troops boarded the Mavi Marmara, the largest ship in the flotilla.


"The expertise, independence and impartiality of the members of the mission will be devoted to clarifying the events which took place that day and their legality," Sihasak Phuangketkeow, the Thai ambassador to the UN, said.

Thailand currently holds the presidency of the human rights council.

De Silva is a former chief war crimes prosecutor at the UN-backed special court for Sierra Leone. Hudson-Phillips is a former judge at the International Criminal Court and Shanthi Dairiam is a women's rights activist.


No Israeli co-operation

The team is expected to travel to Israel, Turkey and Gaza next month to interview witnesses and gather information. It will report its findings in September.

It is unclear whether Israel will co-operate with the inquiry; Israel has said that its soldiers acted in self-defence, and has rejected calls for an international investigation.

An internal Israeli army inquiry completed earlier this month recommended no disciplinary action against senior officers, and concluded that "the use of live fire was justified" on board the Mavi Marmara.

A separate civilian panel, chaired by former Israeli supreme court judge Jacob Turkel, is also investigating the raid.

Israel's defence ministry announced on Friday that it would return seven ships from the flotilla to Turkey, including the Mavi Marmara.

The ships have been sitting in Israel's Ashdod and Haifa ports for more than a month, despite repeated requests from the Turkish embassy that the ships be returned.

The ministry said it will co-ordinate with Turkey to arrange for the return of the ships, a process which could take several weeks.