Israel Matzav

Turkish opposition attacks Davutoğlu over flotilla

Maybe there are still some Turks who love us after all. Turkish opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has attacked Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu for the latter's comments on the flotilla issue.

“We should all avoid acts that would weaken our position with regard to the ongoing inquiry about the Mavi Marmara,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said in an interview to CNNTürk, referring to the UN probe into an Israeli raid on the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara last year.

Davutoğlu’s comments were made in response to Republican People’s Party leader Kılıçdaroğlu who slammed the government for allowing the Turkish activists to depart for Gaza without taking into account the possible consequences and suggested Ankara was behind the action.

“The questions Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu is posing are the same as those of the Israelis. This is very thought-provoking,” Davutoğlu was quoted as saying by Hurriyet. “Introducing these questions as a tool of domestic politics is wrong and should not be done by the main opposition party.”

Kiliçdaroğlu further aegued that the investigation into the Mavi Marmar incident was halted by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and hinted this was to try to cover up the government's responsibility in the incident.

“A criminal complaint was filed about this. The Justice Ministry has to give permission to launch an investigation. Why was this permission not given? It has been asked to Erdoğan: Did you give this permission or not?” Kılıçdaroğlu was quoted as saying.

The opposition leader also criticized Erdoğan for receiving an award from a US-based Jewish group and for negotiating with Israel to give a piece of land on the Turkish-Syrian border to an Israeli company after it was cleaned of landmines, the Hurriyet report said. “Who sent one of his ministers to Israel [to negotiate]? It was Erdoğan,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.

Another report published Monday by Turkish paper Today's Zaman said Davutoğlu dismissed the opposition's claims that a minister visited Israel to mend ties with the government, claiming that “even a Turkish committee did not visit Israel” after a Mavi Marmara incident, “let alone a minister.”

Read it all.

Surprisingly, on Monday, Davutoğlu suggested that Turkish activists delay their departure to Gaza to measure the effects of the Rafah crossing reopening. His timing is kind of surprising. The Rafah crossing has been closed again, first by Egypt and then by Hamas.

Labels: Ahmet Davutoglu, Egypt, flotilla of fools, Gaza plenty, Hamas, Rafah

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:49 PM