Eleven years have passed since the invading Israeli regime attacked the Mavi Marmara ship in international waters.
As it will be remembered when hosting the anniversary of the dismissal of the Mavi Marmara case last week, within the scope of the normalization agreement with Israel, the 7th High Criminal Court of Istanbul dropped the case of the Mavi Marmara massacre, in which four murderers, including the then Israeli Chief of Staff Rau Aluf Gabiel Ashknazi, were tried.
Despite the decision that made the Israeli regime take a deep breath, while the Mavi Marmara case continued to move forward in conscience, Gülden Sönmez, one of the lawyers of Mavi Marmara victims, made very important statements to our newspaper.
“ISRAEL ENCOUNTERED FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH A SITUATION LIKE ACCOUNTING”
What is the importance of the Mavi Marmara struggle for the Islamic Ummah?
Mavi Marmara had set out to break the Gaza blockade and to deliver humanitarian aid, which cannot be legally prevented even in times of war, to the victims and the needy in Gaza. It was said no to Israel's occupation of the Mediterranean and Gaza territory by violating all legal rules, and an effort was made to end the blockade, which had deadly consequences for the common conscience of the world. If you look at the 100-year-old civil organizations, you will not find an example of any other project that brought together people representing so many religions, cultures and races from all over the world and achieved such a partnership for a humanitarian purpose. In this sense, it caught the attention of the world. They preserved this unity without compromising their peaceful and humanitarian aims. For the first time, the whole world formed a unity against Israel's lawlessness. This organization, which was held for the first time in practice and with support from all over the world, seriously frightened Israel. In fact, the legal struggle carried out after the attack created a very serious fear in Israel. For the first time, they faced a situation such as being accountable, prosecuted, and sanctioned. The struggle for Palestine and Jerusalem would have been in a very different place today if the ships and lawsuits that were going to go again in 2011 were not prevented.
Although 11 years have passed since the Mavi Marmara massacre and six years have passed since the case was dropped, Mavi Marmara continues its journey in conscience. To what do you attribute the awareness of the Mavi Marmara case still alive in our society?
It is about the consciousness of the Palestinian struggle and cause. The Palestinian cause is a struggle supported and sensitive by more than 95% of the people of Turkey, with people of all opinions and ideas. The overwhelming majority of the society is against the Israeli occupation and all its unlawfulness. Together with the Mavi Marmara process, it has been strengthened with the support of the whole world. However, after the process has evolved to be the agenda of only domestic politics rather than being the agenda of the peoples and civil society, a periodical stagnation process has been entered.
“FIGHTING FOR THE TERMINATION OF AGREEMENTS”
What are the duties of our society in order to be worthy of the Mavi Marmara martyrs and to continue their cherished cause?
First of all, efforts should be made to terminate the agreement signed between Turkey and Israel, which entered into force with the approval of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, and to eliminate the consequences arising from it. This deal is blatantly unlawful and a source of shame. It contains an arrangement whose content we cannot accept in any way and forgives the murderers. For the Israeli side of the agreement, the presentation of Jerusalem as the capital is another great disaster. The existence of this agreement, both in terms of procedure and content, is unacceptable not only for the victims who were attacked on the ship, but also for the people and state of Turkey. The trials should continue where they left off, and justice should be served for those killed, injured and imprisoned on the Mavi Marmara ship. Mavi Marmara cases are also the cause of the Palestinian people. Due to Israel's attack and massacres, Mavi Marmara cases and investigations were carried out in courts of many countries and in the International Criminal Court. The Mavi Marmara cases are not just to hold the account of the crimes committed on the ships, but to lift the Gaza blockade, end the massacres of civilians in Palestine, ensure that every Turkish ship and passenger can travel safely in the Mediterranean and international waters, and that everyone obeys the law. Citizens of Turkey or other 37 related states should not have politically intervened in these cases, not only for the rights of the martyrs and themselves, but also for the future of the oppressed Palestinian people. At this point, the victims, including the families of the martyrs, objected to the case, which was dropped on the grounds of the agreement between Turkey and Israel, while it was being heard at the Istanbul 7th High Criminal Court, and unfortunately the appeal process resulted in a rejection in the past days. The process is now at the appeal stage. Our objections continue. I hope the error is corrected here and the trial continues again. This opportunity still exists. On the other hand, Israel, which found the 80-90-year-old Nazi officer after decades and tried and punished him, knows well that we have the same determination for the murderers in the Mavi Marmara. The soldiers who participated in this attack are still under our legal pursuit. Today, although Turkey's prosecutors and courts hold back on this issue, we will not give up on this demand.
“ACTION MUST BE INCREASED TO END THE OCCUPATION”
What should be done in the presence of states and peoples in order to leave Israel in a difficult situation in the international public opinion?
The Palestinian people living in Gaza are still under siege and their troubles continue. Moreover, while the world community is dealing with different crisis areas, the Israeli occupation regime, which still has not even received criticism for its unfair practices against the West Bank and Gaza, has now accelerated its aggression against Masjid al-Aqsa. The Zionists, who see the silence of the world as "confirmation" for themselves, are expanding the occupation day by day with the help of settlers, and on the other hand, they continue to commit the crimes of wounding, killing and imprisoning the Palestinians every day. In the current situation, what needs to be done is to return the conscientious and humanitarian solidarity of the peoples of the world as aid to the Palestinian people and to increase the activity in order to end the occupation. If this happens, states and international mechanisms will have to do what is necessary.
“ISRAEL WOULD HAVE TO MAKE SERIOUS COMMITMENTS”
If the Mavi Marmara case had not been dropped, what stage would it be at today? How would the case create a picture against Israel?
First of all, Israel would have to make serious concessions in order to escape the grip of the lawsuits. Relations with Turkey would continue in favor of our country. He would not be able to play ball as he wanted on the Eastern Mediterranean. Many Israelis would continue to be unable to travel politically and militarily. As you know, former chief of general staff Gabi Ashkenazi, one of the criminals for whom a red notice was issued by the court through Interpol, could not leave Israel, and while he was completely ineffective due to this decision, the ban on him was lifted after the case was dropped and he became Israel's foreign minister.
THE AGREEMENT SIGNED BETWEEN TURKEY AND ISRAEL IS UNLAWFUL AND A SOURCE OF SHAME... IT SHOULD BE CANCELED IMMEDIATELY
First of all, the agreement signed between Turkey and Israel, which entered into force with the approval of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, should be terminated and a struggle should be made to eliminate the consequences arising from it. This deal is blatantly unlawful and a source of shame.
It contains an arrangement whose content we cannot accept in any way and forgives the murderers. For the Israeli side of the agreement, the presentation of Jerusalem as the capital is another great disaster. The existence of this agreement, both in terms of procedure and content, is unacceptable not only for the victims who were attacked on the ship, but also for the people and state of Turkey.