EU-US insensitivity to activists killed by Israel disappoints Turkey

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the United States objected to and EU member countries abstained on the UN Human Rights Council's draft resolution regarding the Israeli attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, World Bulletin reports.

The Ministry released a statement saying that the report of the fact-finding mission sent by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate the raid in international waters, which resulted in deaths of eight Turkish citizens and one U.S. citizen, was submitted to the Council on September 22.

The draft resolution, submitted to the council by Pakistan on behalf of the 57 OIC-member states, was adopted by 30 votes to 1 vote (that of the USA). The EU countries abstained in the vote.

"Despite clear EU principles concerning human rights, EU member countries, whose citizens were evacuated by Turkey following the Israeli raid, abstained from voting and the United States, whose citizen was killed in the attack, voted against. Turkey is disappointed and conveys its sensitivity on the matter to the EU and the United States."

The statement said, "assessments of the report that Israel's armed attack in international waters was evidently illegal, that Israeli troops used excessive and unnecessary violence and the intervention seriously violated human rights law and the rules of humanitarian law are important. Turkey expects all parties concerned, mainly Israel, to
draw the necessary lessons from the assessments in question."

Nine people, including eight Turkish citizens and one U.S. citizen of Turkish descent, were killed when Israeli forces raided a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in international waters on May 31. Around 30 people were wounded in the attack.

The UN Human Rights Council set up an international fact-finding mission on June 2 to investigate violations of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law, resulting from the Israeli attack on the flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian assistance.