Special statements to our newspaper from Beheşti İsmail Songür, President of Mavi Marmara Freedom and Solidarity Association…
The first big(!) and concrete step is being taken within the scope of the "normalization" winds between Turkey and Israel. Accordingly, Israeli President Yitzak Herzog will visit Turkey on March 9-10. Within the scope of this visit, Herzog is expected to have a tete-a-tete meeting with President Erdoğan, as well as meetings between delegations.
“ISRAEL IS A SECURITY PROBLEM FOR TURKEY'S FOREIGN POLICY”
While there is little time left for President Herzog of the Israeli regime to come to Turkey, the reactions to the said visit are also growing. Making special statements to the Milli Gazete, Mavi Marmara Freedom and Solidarity Association President Beheşti İsmail Songür said that "normalization" with Israel is not possible in the eyes of the public. Noting that the Zionist Israeli forces are occupiers and murderers, Songür said, "The step we call normalization is only to bring the occupation of Israel to a legitimate basis. How if we are following a foreign policy that will not allow the activities of any terrorist group in our south; The occupying forces, which usurped all the rights of Palestine, our spiritual and historical neighbor, is also a security problem for Turkey's foreign policy. At the same time, it harms Palestine's visibility in the international arena and its struggle for existence.”
“ISRAEL IS AN OCCUPYING TERRORIST ORGANIZATION”
Beheşti İsmail Songür reminded that the occupying Israel continued its violations of rights against Palestinians, even after the Mavi Marmara agreement. Noting that the only expectation of Mavi Marmara participants was the liberation of Palestine from the occupying Zionist gangs, “When we consider the changes and needs in the region, it is clearly seen that Israel needs Turkey in this process. Israel is not a state, it is an occupying terrorist organization in the Middle East. If they want a normalization, they should cooperate with other terrorist organizations that they finance with money. They can strengthen their friendship," Songür added.
The interview with Beheşti İsmail Songür, President of Mavi Marmara Freedom and Solidarity Association, is as follows:
How do you evaluate the "normalization" process between Turkey and Israel?
In fact, this situation is not as a social normalization; We see it as a process between politicians. It is not possible for our people to normalize with Israel. We know well that Turkey is a country that stands by the oppressed all over the world and is renowned for its gracious hospitality in all oppressed geographies. We do not believe that Turkey will have a partnership with Israel in the region's future. While Turkey, which has been carrying out an active foreign policy in the region for 20 years, carries out a policy based on the dominance of stability and confidence in the region, it is not possible for them to operate a normalization process on a common ground with Israel, which is fed by the regional instability it produces. Our state in our historical heritage and roots, never shook hands with cruel and murderous states, gangs and groups. Zionist Israeli forces are occupiers and murderers in the Palestinian territories, where the greatest violations of rights in the world are experienced.
Could "normalization" do any good for Palestine?
It is not the first time that relations between Turkey and Israel are in the process of normalization and development. When the Justice And Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002, it carried out a foreign policy based on close relations with all countries in the region, and relations with Israel were carried out on this basis until 2006. In this process, it has advanced at a high level at the level of visits at the level of mutual heads of state; There were even periods when Turkey assumed the role of mediator between HAMAS and Israel. However, relations entered a new era with Israel's attacks on Gaza. The war crimes committed by Israel, the attacks on Masjid al-Aqsa and Jerusalem, the low seat crisis, the one minute incident, the Mavi Marmara attack and 10 Turkish citizens were killed by the Israel in international waters, the process had reached the point of the withdrawal of the ambassadors. Both the systematic occupation process for 70 years and Turkey's past experiences have shown that; Israel does not have the mechanism to convince something by talking, normalizing and establishing relations. Israel is in a structure that continues to work, sometimes openly and sometimes secretly, in line with the goals in its agenda. The steps to be taken in the name of solution and stability in the region are the problems that Israel wants to be chronicled.
The step we call normalization is only to bring the occupation of Israel to a legitimate basis. Just as we follow a foreign policy that will not allow the activity of any terrorist group in our south; The occupying forces, which usurped all the rights of Palestine, our spiritual and historical neighbor, is also a security problem for Turkey's foreign policy. At the same time, it harms Palestine's visibility in the international arena and its struggle for existence.
How does Normalization affect Palestine’s presence in Turkey and the future of the Palestinian issue?
The existence of the Jerusalem and Palestine cause in Turkey has not existed either through the policies of Turkish politicians or the existence of the Palestinian diaspora in Turkey. When the Israeli government declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel in July 1980, embassies were closed and relations were reduced to the level of charge d'affaires. On September 6, 1980, a "Saving Jerusalem Meeting" was organized in Konya under the leadership of the National Salvation Party (Milli Selamet Partisi), and a supra-political consensus on Palestine was formed in the public opinion. Therefore, normalization with Israel cannot and will not happen. Socially, it is not possible to get closer to Israel.
There are businessmen, students and politicians who develop relations between the two countries in Turkey. In addition, the Palestinian diaspora outside of Turkey has also been a supporter of Turkey in the international arena. With unwritten rules under the name of normalization, ensuring the removal of these people from Turkey, regional peace and it would be a mistake on behalf of Turkey's political interests. The diaspora outside Palestine is the cornerstone of the peace process in the Middle East. Turkey has always been a safe country not only for Palestinians but also for European citizens of Palestinian origin. The slightest political agreement to shake this trust would be to act against the mission that history has placed on our shoulders. Our history comes from a tradition of state that brought justice from Europe to Asia. In addition, normalization harms the future of the Palestinian struggle by carrying water to the mill of legitimizing Israel in the region that started with the Abraham Agreements.
How do you think the "normalization" between Turkey and Israel will affect the balances in the Middle East?
Normalization should be seen as the new order to be established in the Middle East after the Arab Spring. Currently, there is a struggle for "repositioning" in the Middle East. The steps to be taken in this process will be the beginning of the developments that will continue for many years in the region. With Covid-19, we see that this process accelerates even more. Just as there was an oil-oriented struggle in the Middle East in the 20th century, the main focus of this century will be on energy. When we consider the role of potential energy in the development of states in the Eastern Mediterranean, this aspect of normalization should be seen well. In particular, the economic turmoil that states enter after the pandemic creates interest-oriented associations. But it should not be forgotten that the energy introduced as "Israeli gas" in the region is essentially the rights taken from the Palestinians. A normalization step centered on the Eastern Mediterranean, where there is no Palestine, will further make hard the life of Palestinians under the blockade for years.
There has been a rapprochement between Turkey and Israel in the past years, and the Mavi Marmara case was unlawfully terminated in that process. Can you tell us what has changed since then?
The only thing that has not changed since then is Israel's cruel and barbaric tour. The dismissal of these cases has gone down as a black mark in the Turkish legal history. The legal struggle of Mavi Marmara participants still continues in the national and international arena. Establishing justice is the most basic duty of the state. The lack of restitution of law in the Mavi Marmara cases is the first indication that Turkey renounced its international sovereign rights. It is very sad for the legal future of the country that the country has fallen into a new account with the occupying Zionist state without being held accountable for this bloody attack on its own citizens in the Mediterranean and international waters. In addition, the bloody raid on May 31, 2010 was not only carried out on the Mavi Marmara ship. 6 of our soldiers were killed and 7 of our soldiers were seriously injured in the attack on the Turkish Naval Forces Naval Supply Support Command in Iskenderun. This attack is an attack carried out through the PKK terrorists, which is funded by the terrorist state of Israel. In order to blur the internal agenda, this attack which happened on the same night, it is an undeniable fact. In addition, the departure of the Mavi Marmara and the price paid afterwards were aimed at lifting the blockade on which the Palestinians lived. Israel continued its violations of rights against Palestinians, including after the Mavi Marmara agreement.
What are the expectations of Mavi Marmara participants from this process?
The only expectation of Mavi Marmara participants is the liberation of Palestine from the occupying Zionist gangs. This Zionist gang is stealing not only the historical and cultural integrity of Palestine, but also its future, to generate income from energy resources that do not belong to it. The Zionist state of Israel is not only an occupier, but also a bandit and thief. In these gas reserves, which are located off the coast of Palestine in general and Gaza in particular, and which, according to international maritime law, are the right of only Palestinians, the only authority that needs to be negotiated is the Palestinians.
Turkey is a country that can determine its own foreign policy and has begun to get rid of its shackles. As Mavi Marmara Association, we think that this process of Turkey's 'normalization' will open the door to some problems that will become chronic in the region in the long run.
It should never be forgotten:
Considering the changes and needs in the region, it seems clear that Israel needs Turkey in this process. Israel is not a state, it is an occupying terrorist organization in the Middle East. If they want a normalization, they can strengthen their friendship with other terrorist organizations that they finance with money.