‘Egypt is committing crimes against humanity’

The IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation strongly condemned the Egyptian police’s intervention in the Palestine convoy at the Arish port.

06.01.2010 - ‘Egypt is committing crimes against humanity’

NOTICE TO PUBLIC OPINION 

“Viva Palestina” convoy, whose Turkey leg is coordinated by the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, left Turkey on 19 December 2009 and arrived in Jordanian city of Aqaba passing through Syria. In talks with Egyptian authorities it was decided that the convoy sail to Arish, the closest port to Gaza, from Syrian port of Latakia and enter Gaza along with the activists. 

The ship carrying convoy vehicles reached the Arish port on 3 January 2010. The first plane transferring the activists landed at Arish Airport at 17:30 p.m. on 4 January 2010. However, the activists were mistreated here and their passports were confiscated without indicating any reason. The plane that took off from Latakia Airport at 20:00 p.m. was not allowed to land in Arish and had to make an emergency landing at Damascus Airport. The activists were transferred to Arish with different planes and could only leave the airport after talks with Egyptian authorities.  

Egypt refused to allow the 59 of the 198 vehicles in the convoy to be taken to Gaza in breach of the agreement reached earlier. In response, the convoy representatives rejected the Egyptian decision and told authorities they would take all the vehicles to Gaza as agreed and would not negotiate on this point. 

Egyptian security officials besieged the convoy and the activists waiting at the Arish port. Later that night about 100 Egyptian police officers in plain clothes started to throw stones at the activists and riot police shot pepper spray. Forty activists were wounded. They were treated by the means available at the convoy because the Egyptian police did not allow them to be taken to hospital. 

About 250 out of the 500 activists, some of them women, at the convoy are Turkish citizens along with five Turkish MPs and British MP George Galloway. Families of the injured activists are concerned about their safety and are following the developments from the press. Eight activists, five British, two Turkish and one Malaysian, were detained during the protest, but were released after long talks.  

We would like to announce that unless this saddening incident is left behind and all the procedures required for the passage of the convoy are concluded without any harm to the activists, all friends of Palestine will respond to any hurdle and attack.  

We condemn the violent intervention of Egypt in this initiative that is entirely composed of volunteers and is acting solely with humanitarian concerns, and urge all our supporters to be more concerned.   

Durmuş AYDIN

General Secretary of the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation

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