Home
/
Isiam
/
Politics & Economics
/
'Greek government has bowed to pressure'
'Greek government has bowed to pressure'
Apr 4, 2025 7:12 AM

  The Greek government decided to prohibit the departure of a flotilla of 'aid ships' from Greek ports to the Gaza Strip. In a statement released on Friday, the Greeks explained that this was done in a bid to prevent a breach of Israel's naval blockade against the Palestinian enclave.

  Khalid Turaani is a 45-year old American-Palestinian activist and one of the driving forces behind the flotilla. His ship is lying in a port on the Greek island of Corfu, as nearby coast guard ships are making sure it does not move.

  Al Jazeera spoke with Turaani about the situation.

  Do you think the decision by the Greeks is final?

  I don't believe this decision was made haphazardly. They have taken it into careful consideration. I therefore think that it is irreversible. They just decided that they will pay the price of bad press for stopping the flotilla, which is not going to be too heavy given the state of their economy. So I believe, as far as this flotilla is concerned, it is over.

  Are you angry?

  "I'm not angry. I'm disheartened by the Greek government's decision to block our flotilla. I was following on Twitter what was going on with the US boat to Gaza as Greek commandos were storming that boat. For me, that brought back bad memories from when the Israeli forces stormed our boat last year during the first 'Freedom Flotilla'. It is sad that the Greek government now is doing the bidding of the Israeli government.

  It seems that the Greek government has bowed to the pressure by the United States and Israel and now they are parroting - in a dumb kind of way - the American and Israeli accusations that this Freedom Flotilla consists of a bunch of extremists. We do not have a death wish. We wanted to go and break the siege on Gaza peacefully, as people of conscience who are standing in solidarity with who are oppressed.

  What will happen to the boat?

  We worked really hard over the year to collect money, pennies and cents really, to buy this boat and put this flotilla together. But freedom is not counted in pennies and cents. These are only tools for us in order to bring light to the desperate conditions that the Palestinians are living under, particularly in Gaza.

  But I believe that at least one aim is achieved. We have brought the world's attention to what is going on in Gaza.

  What is next?

  We're going to have a meeting by the coordinating committee for the different nationalities on the boat, during which people will put forward their suggestions on what to do next. We want everybody to have their input.

  This flotilla might be over, but our struggle most certainly is not. It will not be over until the Israeli occupation of on Palestinian land is over. I think this part of our struggle for freedom is only beginning actually. We're not going to just lie down and die. We are used to the Israelis pulling all kinds of tricks. Shooting nine activists on last year's flotilla was one of them. Sabotaging our Irish boat in Turkey was another one, and sabotaging the Swedish-Greek boat in Athens yet another.

  Ban Ki-moon [UN secretary general] was pressured into asking us to go through proper channels to fight the occupation. As if Mandela went through proper channels to defeat apartheid. As if the Tunisian people went through proper channels to oust [Zine El Abidine] Ben Ali. I wonder if this guy [Ban Ki-moon] actually reads newspapers.

  PHOTO CAPTION

  Palestinian children hold Palestinian and Greek flags as they protest in support of the Gaza-bound flotilla in the port of Gaza City, Sunday, July 3, 2011.

  Source: Aljazeera.net

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Politics & Economics
Syria: Post-war reconstruction booming in Jarablus
  Jarablus, a city in northern Syria near the Turkish border, is one of the few places to rebound after fighters from ISIL were defeated with help from Turkey.   More than six years of war in Syria means it will take massive reconstruction efforts to rebuild cities that have been reduced...
US blocked inquiry into Israeli violence: UN official
  The U.S. declined calls from the UN Security Council for an investigation into violence on the Israeli-Gaza border that left 18 Palestinians dead, a UN official said Monday.   Speaking at a press conference at UN headquarters, Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, Permanent Representative of Peru to the UN and president of the Security...
Satellite images show destruction in Eastern Ghouta
  According to UN analysis, regime bombardment has levelled residential areas, infrastructure and businesses.   The UN has released satellite imagery from areas inside Eastern Ghouta, showing the destruction continuous regime bombardment has caused.   The Damascus suburb has been targeted by the continuous air attacks since the Syrian regime, aided by Russia,...
Double trouble in India: Religious bigotry coupled with coronavirus
  By: Ravale Mohydin   As Italian philosopher, Giacomo Leopardi once observed, “no human trait deserves less tolerance in everyday life, and gets less, than intolerance.”   This adage perfectly encapsulates India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s response to the coronavirus pandemic so far.   As the disease...
ASEAN summit silence on Rohingya 'an absolute travesty'
  After two days of ceremonious meetings, Southeast Asian leaders missed the bullseye in talks about two major human rights issues affecting their region: Myanmar's handling of the Rohingya crisis and the Philippines' bloody campaign against illegal drug traffickers.   Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, this year's Chairman of the Association of Southeast...
Turkish aid campaigns open doors worldwide
  Turkish aid campaigns worldwide will open new doors in political, commercial, and diplomatic ties, as well as human affairs, according to the head of Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).   Speaking to Anadolu Agency in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya, Mehmet Gulluoglu said that his agency is operating hand-in-hand...
Relatives raise concern over 'missing' Russian citizens in Egypt
  Relatives of as many as 18 Russian citizens, including eight children, have expressed concern about the wellbeing of their Egypt-based family members, saying they are unable to establish their whereabouts after they were taken away by suspected secret police officers.   According to the relatives, Sakinat Baisultanova - a 31-year-old divorced...
How Mossad carries out assassinations
  The killing of 35-year-old Palestinian scientist Fadi al-Batsh in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur has taken the wraps off a covert programme of targeted killings of Palestinians deemed a threat by Israel.   Al-Batsh studied electrical engineering in Gaza before going on to earn a PhD in the same subject in...
Yemenis resort to burning firewood and rubbish to cook food
  When Yahia al-Amari's three gas cylinders ran dry, he scoured the entire Yemeni capital to find a place where he could refill them.   The 50-year-old walked to nearly every petrol station in Sanaa last month, hoping to find enough fuel to cook his family of seven their first hot meal...
How to prevent outbreaks of zoonotic diseases like COVID-19
  by Maxwell Gomera   ·   By now billions of people around the world are following advice to practise social distancing and "shelter at home" to prevent the alarming spread of a new coronavirus disease, COVID-19. The virus joins a growing list of emerging zoonotic diseases or diseases caused by bacteria, viruses,...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved