Tag: Mavi Marmara

Investigation: the interview with the Captain of the Mavi Marmara

Here are extended excerpts of an interview with Mahmut Tural, Captain of The Mavi Marmara, about the Israeli Naval assault on the Freedom Flotilla that took place just before dawn on the 31st of May.

The interview was posted on 16 June on the website of the Turkish relief organization IHH, which had chartered the Mavi Marmara for the planned excursion to Gaza.

The interview was apparently conducted by IHH.

Here are excerpts from what Captain Tural had to say, prompted by questions from an interviewer:

“The ships of the convoy gathered in south of Cyprus and sailed on at 4 p.m. on the 30th of May, 2010. The ships were sailing together as a convoy. Our first contact with the Israeli navy was at 10.30 p.m.. They inquired about the ship’s registration details, then they said that Gaza is blockaded area and requested us to change our route. At the time of these calls we were sailing in international waters, around 75 miles off the Israeli coast, in route 222. We were completely away from Israeli territorial waters and heading towards southwest. We told them that we were in international waters and they have no right to request us to change our route.

Q: Were you able to see the Israeli warships?

“No. Israeli ships were not in visible distance yet, but I could guess that they were military warships from the radar echoes which came from 3-4 miles away. Around 11.30 p.m. we changed our route to 185. Our aim was to sail 70 miles away from Israeli waters. We never entered into the zone that they had declared as restricted. The calls continued intermittently from 10.30 p.m. till 02.00 a.m.. From that point on we did not receive any calls or warnings. Israel launched claims like ‘We told them to stop, they did not.’ Between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. we did not receive any calls or warnings. They fired from the helicopters without any warning or call as soon as they neared us.

“We evaluated all the possibilities prior to embarking on this journey, but I was not expecting Israel to carry an attack of this kind in international waters…

Continue reading Investigation: the interview with the Captain of the Mavi Marmara

Investigation: Israeli Navy Commander next to Mavi Marmara during sea assault

Haaretz has a story today reporting a new detail concerning the 30 May Israeli assault at sea on the Freedom Flotilla heading toward Gaza, during which at least nine passengers (all Turkish, one also an American dual citizen) were killed.

The article reports that “The officer who commanded the flotilla raid from its onset was Israel Navy chief, Admiral Eliezer Marom, whose command formulated the plans and was the person presenting them, in most cases, to government officials. Maron was situated in a small special-forces naval vassal alongside the Mavi Marmara as the takeover was taking place, in accordance with Israel Navy protocol, which stipulates that the top officer present should have a line of sight, as much as possible, to the event itself. Radio recordings of the operation document Marom giving out specific technical orders to the special-forces team during the flotilla takeover” …

Continue reading Investigation: Israeli Navy Commander next to Mavi Marmara during sea assault

Investigation: the MV Rachel Corrie

Derek Graham, First Mate of the MV Rachel Corrie, said in a telephone interview from Ireland today that the ship was 35 miles off Gaza’s coast — clearly in international waters — when it was stopped and boarded by the Israeli Navy last weekend.

“As soon as the first Israeli soldier put his hand on our boat, I sent out distress signals”, Graham said. “I also stated clearly on the [open] VHF radio channel that we were not in Israeli waters but in international waters”.

UPDATE on Saturday 12 June: Derek Graham said that he is waiting for confirmation — from those international bodies to whom he sent out the distress signals — of the geographical coordinates of the MV Rachel Corrie at the moment he sent out the emergency communications, and promised to send the coordinates when he has that confirmation.

Graham said in the telephone interview that the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (and/or) Free Gaza movement would be putting out videos that show his radio exchanges with the Israeli naval warships that had come to intercept the MV Rachel Corrie, which was originally part of the Freedom Flotilla but which arrived off Gaza’s shore five days after the tragic boarding of the six other Flotilla boats further north, off Israel’s coast, but still well out in international waters. 

According to Graham, the MV Rachel Corrie and all six other boats in the Freedom Flotilla are still detained in Israel’s Ashdod Port, all lined up in a row — “and the Rachel Corrie is parked right behind the Mavi Marmara”, he noted. 

The Mavi Marmara was the largest vessel in the Freedom Flotilla, and was carrying over 600 passengers when it was boarded by Israeli commandos early last Monday morning. All of the nine deaths reported so far took place aboard the Mavi Marmara. 

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Haaretz correspondent Barak Ravid reported today that the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs “warned Israel Navy not to raid Gaza flotilla in international waters.  In preparatory discussions, government cautioned that such an action would hamper Israel on the diplomatic and public relations front worldwide”. 

The article stated that “During the government’s preparatory discussions over how to handle the Gaza-bound aid flotilla, the Foreign Ministry advised that Israel’s security forces wait for the ships to reach the country’s territorial waters – which lie within 20 miles from the coast – before launching a takeover operation”. 

Continue reading Investigation: the MV Rachel Corrie

Investigation: IDF-doctored audio

Just for reference:
On 31 May, the IDF posted this 1’05”-long video mainly to show the audio exchange between the Israeli Navy radio control and the Freedom Flotilla just prior to the start of the disastrous IDF assault at sea (as of mid-afternoon on 9 June, this IDF  Youtube video/audio had 396,331 views):

[Dialog reported in this “edited” video included remarks from two unidentified male voices making remarks that can only be described as hate language, and incitement. See our earlier post here. The female voice has been identified as Free Gaza member Huwaida Arraf, but she has since reportedly claimed that she did not make these remarks on board the Freedom Flotilla on 30 May — but perhaps on some one of the earlier eight Free Gaza expedition by sea, only some of which managed to reach Gaza.  (*See footnote below)…]

A day later, the IDF responded to criticism about this “edited” version — which it eventually removed from its website several days later — by issuing a Clarification/Correction Regarding Audio Transmission Between Flotilla and Israeli Navy on June 5, 2010 at 18:09 in the evening. This IDF Clarification/Correction is posted here.

This IDF Clarification/Correction contains what it admitted was the “edited” (27-second) version of the audio exchange, plus a new offering which it said was an “unedited” version of the exchange, which is 5’58” long:The now-admittedly IDF-“edited” 27-second version is on Youtube here, and as of the afternoon of 9 June it has been viewed 285,305 times:

The IDF’s longer “unedited” 5’58”-second version is on Youtube here, and as of the afternoon of 9 June it has been viewed only 37,305 times:

On the “unedited” 5’58” audio tape, which is an Israeli Navy warship hailing the Defne or Dafne Y (on open VHF channel 16, on which any other ship in the vicinity can also speak), there are among others several interesting moments (among others):
a.) Unidentified male voice with funny accent saying “Shut up, go back to Auschwicz!” is at approximately 2’08”
b.) Free Gaza’s Huwaida Arraf (who was on board the Challenger) speaks from 3’27” to 4’09” (*footnote: in this tape, she does indeed say, “Israeli Navy, this is the Freedom Flotilla … We do not carry anything that constitutes a threat to your armed forces. Therefore you are not justified in using any force against us. The blockade of Gaza is illegal under international law. We have permission from the Gaza Port Authorities to enter...”
c.) Unidentified male voice saying [“You’re” or “We’re“, it is not clear] “helping Arabs go against the U.S. — don’t forget 9/11, guys!” is at 4’03”.

Also of interest —
d.) It appears that a U.S. Navy warship may also have been speaking (with a funny accent), or perhaps somebody was mentioning a U.S. Navy warship nearby, on this radio channel, on this audio tape, at 0’28″…
e.) A polite, calm, apparently Israeli naval officer speaking English with a Russian accent asks one ship if it is prepared for boarding, and asks that the captain have one “off-signer” [?] on board lined up alongside the gangway with their luggage and passports ready — and saying at the end of his comments: “Thanks a lot for your nice cooperation“, at approximately 4’34 to 4’59”.

On "doctored" evidence

I can’t resist.

The minute I saw this photo, I felt that it might be doctored:

Photo of man aboard Mavi Marmara provided by IDF spokesmans office

The knife looks completely fake.   It looks like a photoshop job to me.  What if this guy, on board the Mavi Marmara, were really only shaking his fist?  Would this be fair?

Besides, How would he have gotten this long sharp weapon on board?  How would he have been able to keep it, once he flashed it like this? Nobody around him objected??

It’s only too easy to do this, in all-out ideological war.

UPDATE: I just saw this now (10 June) — see how Ali Abunimah treated this here and here, and how Max Blumenthal blogged it here.

Now, look at this other photo — also published in Haaretz:

Photo of Israeli PM Netanyahu on 1 June 2010 by Reuters

It would be so easy to do the same…

Continue reading On "doctored" evidence