Palestine Platform have introduced the “Goldstone Report” to public through a meeting. The report states that Israel has committed war crimes.
United Nations Human Rights Commission established an Investigation Committee on the 3rd of April, 2009, to investigate the region for international crimes against humanity following Israeli military campaign on Gaza between December 27, 2009 and January 18, 2010. The Goldstone Report which resulted from these investigations was translated into Turkish by the Law Committee of Palestine Platform, have been publicly announced in Turkey for the first time.
Palestine Platform have translated the report into Turkish. The Platform also held a public meeting to introduce the report. State Minister Faruk Celik, Zafer Uskul, Head of Human Rights Commission of Turkish Parliament, Erol Yarar, President of Palestine Platform, Nebil Maruf, Ankara Ambassador to Palestine, Necati Ceylan, President of TGTV (Turkish Platform For Volunteer Organizations), Murat Yalcintas, Head of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, Ahmet Varol and Abdurrahman Dilipak, writers from Vakit newspaper and a number of academicians attended the meeting.
State Minister Faruk Celik, in his speech during the meeting which was held in the conference hall of Istanbul University of Commerce, addressing the Israeli government, said “We would like to call out to Israeli officials who burn with a passionate hatred of Palestine. Palestinians towards whom you are carrying all these barbarian acts are human beings. Do you take them as something else? Why do you ignore the fact that these people are human beings just like yourselves with brains and feelings and how can you still continue the oppression? You have been doing everything you can to raise awareness in the world about the oppression you were subject to during different times through history. I am hoping that this report will not be left only as a means to calm the world public down regarding the continuous oppression in Palestine. Those important facts listed in this report and the evidence should be carried on to a further international platform and we will be doing everything we can as Turkish government in order to help out.”
Israel has committed war crimes
Faruk Celik showed his reaction to Israel for threatening to attack the humanitarian aid ships and he gave his support to the Gaza flotilla campaign of IHH. Minister Celik stated that Israel was not able to reach its goals by massacring Palestinians. He went on to say “Israel could not manage to take Palestine out of Turkey’s and international public’s agenda. Israel could not manage to isolate Palestine, despite the wall of shame they built up in Palestine or the mass killings they carried out in Gaza Strip.
Bulldozers that destroyed homes in Palestine were not powerful enough to destroy the awareness and sympathy towards Palestine in our hearts. Every person that was killed in Palestine lost their lives believing that one day the humanity will wake up from the sleep of ignorance. Those who had to watch the murdering of children on their television screens have been waiting for a brave voice against the oppressors. Our Prime Minister’s storm-out in Davos was not only an important incident in history but also it has become the voice of the oppressed, the voice of those with conscience crying deep inside their hearts.
In response to this conscious cry-out, Israeli hawks almost went fanatical and threatened to bomb a ship loaded with humanitarian conscience, not carrying even a jackknife. What kind of ignorance this could be, what kind of hatred, how can you call this ‘humane’? Because of all this, new generations are growing up witnessing all the hatred in this region. How come a nation who was subject to genocides and atrocities in the past carry out such inhumane treatments towards another nation today? I believe, for establishing peace in the region, for ending the oppression of Palestinian people, this question should be asked out loud by everyone.”
