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Indonesia condemns Israel's attack on Gaza aid flotilla
Indonesia has strongly condemned Israel's attack Monday on a Turkish ship carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, resulting in the death of 16 passengers while the fate of 12 Indonesians onboard remains unknown
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ndonesia has strongly condemned Israel's attack Monday on a Turkish ship carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, resulting in the death of 16 passengers while the fate of 12 Indonesians onboard remains unknown.
AP/IHH via APTN: Act of war: This video image released by the Turkish Aid group IHH on Monday alleges to show Israeli soldiers aboard a naval vessel in international waters off the Gaza coast nearby a Turkish ship. The Turkish ship (photo below), Mavi Marmara, is shown leaving Sarayburnu port, Istanbul, for Gaza on May 22.
"We condemned Israel's storming of the Mavi Marmara, which was sailing in international waters," the government of Indonesia said in a statement.
The Israeli military stormed the Mavi Marmara passenger vessel, which is part of a Freedom Flotilla from 50 countries, on Monday at 4 a.m. local time when they were sailing to try to reach the blockaded Gaza Strip to distribute aid.
Twelve Indonesian volunteers - four from the Indonesian Committee for Palestine Solidarity (KISPA), four from the Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C), three from Al Aqsha-Hidayatullah and a TVOne journalist - are unaccounted for.
"Indonesia will work with the international community to demand accountability from Israel in accordance with international law," said Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa. "We urge the United Nations to investigate the incident."
Jakarta said the attack was illegal as it took place in international waters, highlighting that Israel's blockade of Gaza Strip has also violated international law.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said the Indonesian ambassador in Amman had met with Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the rescue efforts.
"The focus of the meeting with President Abbas was on the safety of our citizens," he said. "We had been informed of the departure of these volunteers to Gaza and we reminded them of the safety risk. We would see their return as a better option rather than continuing the journey *should they later be released*."
Chairman of MER-C Sarbini Abdul Murad said they had not been able to contact their volunteer members as of Monday night.
Israel has defended the storming, saying its commandos were attacked with knives, clubs and live fire from two pistols wrested from Israeli soldiers after they slid down ropes from a helicopter to board one of the vessels, AP reported.
Israel alleged the activists were allies of Hamas and al-Qaeda and said they would have opened an arms smuggling route should they have got into the Gaza Strip.
The convoy, carrying 10,000 tons of supplies, set off from international waters near Cyprus on Sunday. The aid flotilla included teams from European countries, including Israel's ally Germany.
The Ambassador of Palestine to Indonesia Fariz Mehdawi told The Jakarta Post the Mavi Marmara was intercepted 15 miles from the coast of the Gaza Strip, in international waters. He said that Israeli soldiers jumped on board the ship to intercept the volunteers, by using helicopters.
Mehdawi said there has been different accounts of the fatalities but Palestine sources recorded 16 dead, 10 of them Turkish, and 30 injured.
He said there were no information on the 12 Indonesians on board the flotilla.
Mehdawi rejected that the aid flotilla was carrying weapons or military personnel as alleged by the Israeli forces.
"They are civilians. This incident against Palestine is an act against the international community because the flotilla comprised teams from 50 countries," said Mehdawi.
Reports said the aid flotilla would be taken to Ashdod port, some 40 kilometers south of Tel Aviv where the humanitarian mission teams would be checked for their identity and the cargoes they carried.
It is not clear if the flotilla would be released as some reports say the Israeli authorities have claimed they would channel the aid themselves into the blockaded Gaza Strip.
AP reported Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhayu canceled a much-anticipated meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington on Tuesday in a sign of just how gravely Israel viewed the international uproar. In Canada, Netanyahu announced he was rushing home.
The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting later Monday to hear a briefing on the incident, said Lebanon's Deputy Ambassador Caroline Ziade, whose country holds the council presidency. The Arab League called for a meeting to discuss the issue Tuesday in Cairo.
