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Turkish Parliament Committee Sends Letter of Condemnation

05 June 2010 00:19 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The human rights committee of the Turkish parliament sent on Friday a letter to several parliaments to condemn the Israeli attack on Gaza-bound aid flotilla, APA reports quoting turkishny.com web-page.
The Human Rights Inspection Committee of the Turkish Parliament sent a letter of condemnation to 75 committees and international organizations in Spain, Ukraine, Macedonia, Austria, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Russia, Hungary, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Slovenia, Albania, Romania, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Sweden, Czech Republic, Poland, Luxembourg, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Azerbaijan, New Zealand, Peru, Australia, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Finland, Greece, Malta, Japan, Norway, Lithuania, Denmark, Syria, Pakistan, Britain, Mongolia, Qatar, Algeria, the Philippines, and Bahrain.
The committee also conveyed the letter to Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe (COE), and the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights.
In the letter, the Turkish parliament committee said that Israel staged the armed attack on open seas and violated international law.
"However, more importantly, the ships, which set sail under an international initiative of non-governmental groups and which carried hundreds of people from over 30 countries, had a humanitarian mission," the letter said.
The letter said the aim of the ships was to bring aid to people living in Gaza under blockade for 35 months, and draw the attention of international community to this isolation.
"Use of force and violence against unarmed people, including women, children and the elderly, is a serious breach of human rights and can no way be justified," the letter said.
The letter said the attack violated personal freedom and security, particularly the right to live and freedom of travel, and the right to be informed and communicate.
In the letter, the committee said people detained in Israel were subject to mal-treatment.
The committee also said Turkey believed in importance of a common stance against the attack and called on international community to join Turkey’s reaction.
Israeli navy forces raided on Monday a convoy of aid ships of Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza, killing nine people and injuring almost 30 others.