Mavi Marmara returns to Istanbul

Hassan Ghani, Press TV, Istanbul

She sailed through the very sea she was named after, before she finally reached home. It was here, at the very same dock, that the Mavi Marmara set off on a mission of mercy to gaza seven months ago.

That effort, dubbed the freedom flotilla, with seven ships in total, was attacked in international waters by the Israeli military. Nine aid workers were killed in the incident, including 8 Turks and one US citizen, with almost 60 more injured.

As she pulled into Sarayburnu port, the Mavi Marmara was welcomed by thousands of well-wishers. But the celebrations were tinged with sadness with the presence of the families of those killed. But they too stood by the effort to break the Israeli siege of Gaza.

Also among the crowd were some of the hundreds of volunteers from around the world who’d been onboard when the ship was attacked.

Ahsan Shamruk, a Palestinian who now lives in London, was shot twice in the back of the head.

See and hear Ahsan Shamruk who says he has mixed feelings because he is reminded of the bloodshed on the sihp

Israel has continued to insist that its military acted properly, and that the organisers of the flotilla wanted a confrontation. But those claims have been branded as laughable by the activists who were onboard the ships.

A recent UN fact-finding mission concluded that the Israeli attack breached both international humanitarian law and human rights law, and that it betrayed unacceptable levels of brutality. The incident has also strained relations between Turkey and Israeli, with the Turkish government continuing to demand an apology from Israel.

The IHH charity remains defiant. It organised the Turkish contingent of the flotilla including the Mavi Marmara, and has pledged to send an even larger flotilla of ships to break the siege again in May of 2011.

Israel insists that its commandos were dealing with a serious threat when they opened fire onboard this vessel. But that narrative has been disputed by every single passenger who was onboard this ship. And Bulet Yildirim, the head of the IHH, says that the ship is now not only a symbol of conscience, but also now a symbol of freedom.

via PressTV – Mavi Marmara returns to Istanbul.