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Erdogan Slams US Silence on Israeli killing of Turk Origin Activist

12 July 2010 19:23 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated Turkey’s expectations from Israel for the May 31 Israeli raid on Gaza-bound aid flotilla in which Israeli commandos killed eight Turks and an American of Turkish origin, APA reports quoting turkishny.com web-page.
"We have three expectations from Israel. We demand an apology, compensation for the families of victims and an end to Gaza blockade," Erdogan told a joint press conference in Serbia.
"We will be a close follower of our expectations until the end" Erdogan said.
Turkish-Israeli relations strained after Israel’s raid on the Gaza-bound convoy which was carrying humanitarian aid and hundreds of activists from 33 countries. Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel after the raid that took place in the international waters.
Erdogan also accused U.S. administration of standing aloof from the death of a 19-year-old American citizen, Furkan Dogan, who was killed in the Israeli attack.
"It is meaningful that the U.S. administration is not interested in death of American citizen Furkan Dogan just because he is of Turkish origin. We expect U.S. administration to follow it," he said. "The U.S. administration remains silent on the issue."
Upon a question on terrorism, Erdogan said, "I’d like to reiterate my call to EU member countries. Terrorism is not a problem of only Turkey. Terrorism is a trouble for humanity."
He said a part of European countries have not done enough in fight against terrorism, especially against the PKK, adding that PKK terrorists were carrying out their financial or other activities easily in some European countries.
"We are saddened over the reaction of some EU member countries to them because they have not extradited apprehended terrorists to Turkey," he said.
"Moreover, it is also meaningful that EU countries have not extradited members of the terrorist organization to us, although they labeled PKK as a terrorist organization," Erdogan added.