Obituary: The nine Turkish activists massacred on the Mavi Marmara

by shergald Fri Jun 4th, 2010 at 04:49:32 PM EST

Lawrence of Cyberia graciously provided an obituary on the nine Turkish peace activists who died on the Mavi Marmara, the lead ship in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. They were all Turkish citizens. In retrospect, one can only imagine how they, like others aboard the flotilla, were affected by the Gaza massacre of December 2008, when Israel killed 1,400 Palestinians, especially the more than 300 children who died. The pictures were heartbreaking.

We all saw those pictures. Yet only a few of us, like those who died on the Mavi Marmara were inspired enough to act. So these now dead activists joined an humanitarian aid convoy. They ended up dying for their principles. In the terminology of Islam, they died martyrs.

A brief introduction to the nine Turkish people shot dead on 31 May 2010, by Israeli soldiers who attacked the Turkish vessel M.V. Mavi Marmara, as it attempted to transport humanitarian aid to the people of the Gaza Strip.
1.Ibrahim Bilgen, 61, an electrical engineer from Siirt. Member of the Chamber of Electrical Engineers of Turkey. Married with 6 children.

2. Ali Haydar Bengi, 39, ran a telephone repair shop in Diyarbakir. Graduate of Al-Azhar University, Cairo (Department of Arabic Literature). Married to Saniye Bengi; four children.

3. Cevdet Kiliçlar, 38, from Kayseri. Originally a journalist, worked for the past year as webmaster for the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH). Married to Derya Kiliçlar; two children. He participated in an IHH African relief project.

4. Çetin Topçuoglu, 54, from Adana. Former amateur soccer player and taekwondo champion, who coached Turkey's national taekwondo team. Married with one son, Aytek. His wife, Çigdem Topçuoglu, was also aboard the Mavi Marmara, but survived.

5. Necdet Yildirim, 32, an IHH aid worker from Malatya. Married with a three-year-old daughter.

6. Fahri Yaldiz, 43, a firefighter who worked for the Municipality of Adiyaman. Married with four children.

7. Cengiz Songür, 47, from Izmir. Married to Nurcan Songür; six daughters, one son.

8. Cengiz Akyüz, 41, from Iskenderun. Married to Nimet Akyüz ; three children - Furkan (14), Beyza (12) and Erva Kardelen (nine).

9. Furkan Dogan, 19, student at Kayseri High School; hoped to become a doctor. Son of Dr. Ahmet Dogan, Assoc Prof at Erciyes University. A Turkish-American dual national, with two siblings.

Check out Lawrence of Cyberia's link above for further information about these dead Turkish peace activists.

Thanks Diane.

Obituary: The nine Turkish activists massacred on the Mavi Marmara | 28 comments (28 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Obituary: The nine Turkish activists massacred (4.00 / 6)

Autopsy results showed the men were hit mostly with 9mm bullets, many fired at close range, the Guardian said, quoting Yalcin Buyuk, vice-chairman of the Turkish council of forensic medicine which carried out the autopsies on Friday....
The autopsy results showed that a 60-year-old man, Ibrahim Bilgen, was shot four times in the temple, chest, hip and back, the Guardian said.
A 19-year-old, named as Fulkan Dogan, who also has U.S. citizenship, was shot five times from less than 45 cm (18 inches) away, in the face, the back of the head, twice in the leg and once in the back, it said.
Two other men were shot four times. Five of those killed were shot either in the back of the head or in the back, the Guardian quoted Buyuk as saying.
In addition to those killed, 48 others suffered gunshot wounds and six activists were still missing, he added.
Read more...

casus belli, casus foederis my ass

Contrary to virtually all media reports to date, it appears the Mavi Marmara was reflagged from Turkey to the Comoros Islands around 20 May, shortly before heading the peace flotilla.
This is very important. While the Israeli attack remains illegal, it means that the injured party - and the party with legal jurisdiction over the event - is the incapable Comoros Islands rather than the highly capable Turkey. [!] It also greatly reduces the NATO angle, unless other attacked ships were flying the Turkish flag....
But it would seem remarkable if the owners of the ship decided for commercial reasons to switch flags just before sailing in the "Peace flotilla". It is on the face of it a remarkably foolish decision. Did the Turkish governrnent influence it to lessen the political responsibility of Turkey in any incident? Did Israel manage to influence the owners in any way? Is the vessel leased? Who are the owners, and just why did they do this? Read more...

flogging war, more like it.

Since I work in Shipping and have access to Equasis ship database (http://www.equasis.org), a query there about the ship shows that it is under Comoros flag since 1/May/2010. I believe it's one of the most reliable sources available. Regards. Steloukos (talk) 09:07, 4 June 2010 (UTC) Read more...

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Jun 4th, 2010 at 10:48:49 PM EST

Re: Obituary: The nine Turkish activists massacred (4.00 / 5)

In Haaretz, with virtually the same wording in parts...

A 19-year-old, named as Fulkan Dogan, who also has U.S. citizenship, as shot five times from less than 45 cm away, in the face, the back of the head, twice in the leg and once in the back, it said.
Two other men were shot four times. Five of those killed were shot either in the back of the head or in the back, the Guardian quoted Buyuk as saying.
...
Israel said the multiple gunshot wounds did not mean the shots were fired other than in self defense.

How can they make the self-defence claim with a straight face?

By laying out pros and cons we risk inducing people to join the debate, and losing control of a process that only we fully understand. - Alan Greenspan

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Jun 5th, 2010 at 06:09:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obituary: The nine Turkish activists massacred (none / 1)

By "they" do you mean to recognize specific officers of the government of Israel?

Two Israeli ministers said they opposed an international inquiry into the deadly naval raid on a Gaza Strip-bound aid flotilla as the United Nations discussed options for such a commission.
"There shouldn't be an international inquiry," Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said today. "If an inquiry is required it should be handled by parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee." Minister of Science and Technology Daniel Hershkowitz agreed and said he wouldn't trust a probe that included Turkey....
"There is a real need to examine ourselves and the quality of the decision-making process before and after the operation," said Yoel Hasson, the head of the state comptroller committee in the Knesset.
Read more...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss, Welfare and Social Services Minister Isaac Herzog, among others as yet named.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 11:30:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obituary: The nine Turkish activists massacred (4.00 / 4)

Thank you for the detail on these people. This and a diary from Meteor Blades at Daily Kos are the only detailed pieces I've seen on those killed. The other one is here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/6/5/873247/-A-propaganda-problem

(sorry, I can't figure out from the coding at the bottom of the commenting page how to do that as an insert--anyone know which is which?)

by Mnemosyne on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 12:15:28 AM EST

Re: Obituary: The nine Turkish activists massacred (none / 1)

The diary came by way of Lawrence of Cyberia, who did all the leg work (see link above).

by shergald on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 10:05:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]

CIA Is a Terror Linked Organization (4.00 / 3)

.
The al Qaeda link has been retracted from the IDF accounts of the Gaza aid flotilla attack.
Under Scrutiny, IDF Retracts Claims About Flotilla's Al Qaeda Links

`Terror' smear against IHH springs from a familiar source

(Mondoweiss) - Some participants in the Gaza convoy are members of Insan Hak ve Hürriyetleri İnsani Yardım Vakfı --the Foundation for Human Rights, Liberties, and Humanitarian Relief-- IHH, a Turkish non-governmental organizaion (NGO) established in the early 1990s. Its mission is to provide humanitarian relief in regions of conflict or that have experienced natural disasters. For the past six years, IHH has held Special Consultative status as an NGO (non-governmental organization) in the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

WTF reading interesting part of the article "evidence" of IHH terror link to al Qaeda on 90s. It was the United States who coordinated illegal transport of arms with Saudi funds, transported by and through NATO ally Turkey into Bosnia. If the statement is true, the IHH must have been linked to the CIA, indeed a terror organization who provides arms to terror groups, rogue states and mujahideen fighters of al Qaeda in Bosnia in the 90s and OBL in Afghanistan in the 80s.

"It was clearly proven that some of the NGO's work was not charity, it was to provide a facade for moving funds, weapons and mujahedeen to and from Bosnia and Afghanistan" - areas focused on by Islamic militants then.

Arms (originated in Iran!!) transported into Bosnia was illegal under the UN embargo for the former Yugoslav states. Read about the Croatian Pipeline.

Clinton and Black Flights to Tuzla
.
Clinton-Approved Iranian Arms Transfers Help Turn Bosnia into Militant Islamic Base

In April 1994, President Clinton gave the government of Croatia what has been described by Congressional committees as a "green light" for shipments of weapons from Iran and other Muslim countries to the Muslim-led government of Bosnia. The policy was approved at the urging of NSC chief Anthony Lake and the U.S. ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith. The CIA and the Departments of State and Defense were kept in the dark until after the decision was made.

Dutch Srebrenica report: Croatian Pipeline

by Oui on Sun Mar 23rd, 2008 at 12:33:02 PM PST

From Soj's diary more on the The Croatian pipeline. My comment: this permitted the establishment of a Saudi funded Islamic cell on the Balkans which turned later into an Al Qaeda cell which is still not eradicated.

Iran/Bosnia Arms
30 May 96 Hearing
House International Relations Committee

Washington -- U.S. Ambassador to Germany Charles Redman and U.S. Ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith testified May 30, 1996 before the House International Relations Committee regarding 1994 Iranian arms shipments to Bosnian government military forces. At the time of these shipments, the Bosnians were in danger of being overwhelmed by Serbian forces armed with tanks and other heavy weapons the Bosnians could not counter.
Ambassador Galbraith said he knew Croatian authorities would interpret his statement that he had no instructions regarding the transshipment of arms from Iran and other countries through Croatia to beleaguered Bosnian forces as meaning that the United States would not object to the move.

Both ambassadors noted at that time that Iran had already been supplying arms to the Bosnians since 1992.

Ambassador Redman said: "In retrospect, I believe that the decision not to oppose the Croatian initiative was crucial to all that followed in the Balkans." He said that after the Serbs overran Gorazde, "the Bosnian government was in dire straits." He contended that if the United States had blocked the Iranian arms supply initiative, "it very likely would have doomed the (Croat-Muslim) Federation and exacerbated an already desperate military situation for the Bosnians.

"Instead," he said, "the Bosnian armed forces held on and began to counterattack. The Federation survived, UNPROFOR remained in place, helping the Bosnians through another difficult winter, and we bought time for a combination of American diplomacy, NATO air power and Croatian and Bosnian military victories, to reach an historic peace agreement in Dayton."

NSA and intelligence gathering ...

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 06:21:09 AM EST

IDF Forgeries Without Borders (4.00 / 2)

Juan Cole - The Hypocrisy of Netanyahu

The sloppy Israeli propaganda effort against the Free Gaza humanitarian flotilla has been so bad that the pictures released by the Israeli army have been tagged by alert bloggers as forgeries, some of them having been on the Web for years. This site alleges that many of the pictures put out by Israel purporting to show arms on the aid ship still contained internal tags allowing them to be identified as old photos from years ago. Even if the charges of forgery are false, the photos show chains, sticks, an axe- things that would be on any ship.

How Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Fakes Photos of Seized Weapons

(h/t Ibn Kafka) - The following is a repost, due to the amazing hard work of one Ibn Kafka. He has taken the liberty of translating the original post from French into English.

On the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs' Flickr page, the pictures of the so-called weapons seized on the ships taking part in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla provide ample evidence of the deviousness of those darned anti-semitic terrorists. Be forewarned: the following pictures are not for the faint-hearted.

● Lieberman defends PR, slams opposition

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 11:25:50 AM EST

Re: IDF Forgeries Without Borders (4.00 / 3)

Please. On this thread and elsewhere we have conclusively shown that the pictures are not old pictures. I usually like what Juan Cole writes, and I can forgive him for being somewhat ignorant of technology and making a fool of himself as a result. But there's no reason to keep reminding us of it...

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 11:35:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: IDF Forgeries Without Borders (none / 1)

You have conclusively shown?

All you said was that sometimes cameras maintain an original or earlier stamp date with which it tags photos with a date. In one case, the date was four years earlier. Since these cameras obviously have clocks, it would suggest that their clocks were either defective or that there were no batteries in these cameras for a considerable period of time. There were also many different dates on these photos. Just how many photographers did Israel have on the scene?

I don't think that you have shown anything let alone conclusively.

Could you repost your evidence, as opposed to your conjectures?

by shergald on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 11:47:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: IDF Forgeries Without Borders (none / 1)

Conclusively because there's a plausible explanation for the mistaken dates, and the fact that nobody in there right minds (even the Israelis) would go to the trouble of faking innocent evidence, when they could have just as easily faked real evidence. Your comment makes clear that you haven't understood the technical discussion.

It's as conclusive as the fact that Israel was behind the Dubai killing or that Bush was not behind 9/11. I'll leave it a that.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 11:59:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: IDF Forgeries Without Borders (none / 1)

Conclusive subsumes the concept of plausibility?, that it was plausible that the various noncontemporary dates on the photos were the result of faulty timers on several cameras? I think it is plausible that most timers on cameras do not malfunction, in this case, on the several cameras used by the IDF.

Good idea to leave it at that.

by shergald on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 01:20:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: IDF Forgeries Without Borders (4.00 / 2)

Please. Nobody talked about malfunctioning cameras. This is typical behaviour of properly functioning cameras whose owners, like most owners, never bothered to set the date.

Have you bothered to set the date on your camera? If not, check the dates on your photos.... (Why am I the only one on this thread who has bothered to do this simple experiment?)

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 01:23:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: IDF Forgeries Without Borders (none / 0)

I have bothered to set the date on my camera...

By laying out pros and cons we risk inducing people to join the debate, and losing control of a process that only we fully understand. - Alan Greenspan

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 01:42:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: IDF Forgeries Without Borders (none / 1)

There is a valid point you are not accepting: the default date factory-set on most amateur cameras starts being incremented as soon as a battery/s is/are inserted for the first time. Unless a battery/s is completely removed for some minutes, the date will always be incrementing.

However, if power is totally removed for some time (eg. if the camera is stored with batteries removed) then the date will reset to the default - upon next power-up.

A picture file is always date-tagged at the moment the picture is taken, according to the incremented date. The only time a picture will be tagged with the default date is on the first day of the camera ever being powered up.

There is no way, of course, of telling if the date has been reset.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 01:57:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: IDF Forgeries Without Borders (none / 0)

The photos with a January 1 datestamp look like a reset.

By laying out pros and cons we risk inducing people to join the debate, and losing control of a process that only we fully understand. - Alan Greenspan

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 01:58:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: IDF Forgeries Without Borders (none / 1)

Correct. But even then, it will not be the true date, but will simply be off by much less.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 02:09:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: IDF Forgeries Without Borders (none / 1)

But if, for example, a camera was purchased 5 years ago, powered up at purchase, and has always been powered since (which is the case with most domestically used cameras), then the date on the camera, say today, would be contemporary, if not entirely accurate. Date incrementation continues even if you put the camera in a cupboard. The incrementation takes minimal power.

The most rational explanation for the date-tagged pictures is that the tags indicate the date that the picture was taken. Though there is a slight possibility that a camera purchased 10 years ago (with a default date of that time) and not used for 5 years, but then switched on 5 years ago would now indicate a date 5 years ago.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 02:23:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: IDF Forgeries Without Borders (none / 0)

But the point JakeS made is that the factory date is the date it was programmed, not when it was actually made.

As for continually powered, reboot is sometimes needed. Mine was dead, and a friend, with experience with these things, suggested taking out the batteries and restarting it, which worked. It sounds as though this may be a common problem; I've had to do that twice since.

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 02:34:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: IDF Forgeries Without Borders (none / 1)

Yes, I'm not getting into the rights and wrongs - just pointing out how the technology works. JakeS is right, but software is generally updated with each new model, and the frequency of new models tends to be annual. Some cameras do not have a default date set at all, the software simply shows DD/MM/YY empty positions and specifically reminds the purchaser to set the date. Some won't even function until the date is set, though I can't tell you which ones without a lot of research.

The turnover in new cameras may not be so rapid in Turkey, but I would assume that in Israel turnover would be equivalent to anywhere in Europe.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 02:47:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: IDF Forgeries Without Borders (none / 1)

For the camera manufacturer, selling a camera with an 'old' default date is something to be avoided. It reveals that you have not purchased the latest model.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 02:49:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: IDF Forgeries Without Borders (none / 1)

Apparently, from looking at some photographers discussions of this, this model has a separate camera battery. On changing this it will have reset the date/time to its original settings, and all that has to have happened then is for the user not to have bothered to reset the internal clock.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 08:26:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Battery Life of 4 Years (none / 1)

Nikon D2Xs Clock Battery

The clock-calendar is powered by a separate, non-rechargeable CR1616 lithium battery with a life of about four years. When this battery is exhausted, a icon will be displayed in the top control panel while the exposure meters are on. For information on replacing the clock battery, see "Technical Notes: Caring for the Camera"

See my comments on these photos, I just don't believe in theory of wrong date for Nikon D300 and DX2s camera shoot. Many are attributed to IDF spokesperson.

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 08:57:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Battery Life of 4 Years (none / 0)

And do you have a basis for that disbelief?

Preferably one that is understandable to those of us who are allergic to tinfoil.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 09:46:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: IDF Forgeries Without Borders (none / 0)

For the record, mine was actually bought for me at the duty-free in Israel. I'm not sure of the exact date, but I suspect that it's showing about a year before the purchase date. But it looks like the reason is less likely to be the manufacturer date, and more likely to have been removal of the battery (which my experience suggests may be not that rare).

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 04:38:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: IDF Forgeries Without Borders (4.00 / 2)

but software is generally updated with each new model, and the frequency of new models tends to be annual.

There is no good reason for an operation like this to use the most recent model.

Besides, as already noted, if they had produced phony evidence, they would have included a couple of real weapons along with the kitchenware.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 05:30:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Perhaps IDF Needs to Delete Itamar Moatty (4.00 / 2)

IDF Spokesperson Blog - Itamar Moatty

Nikon D300 user: Itamar Moatty

I must assume he is not using the old Nikon D2Xs anymore in 2010.

Found these archive photo's on the Internet through Google: IDF spokesperson Itamar Moatty must have on board as ship docked in Ashdod. Israel police took other photo's of Sheikh Raed Salah in the city of Lachish after his detention in 2007? Now on Flickr dated 2010-05-31.

« click for Flash90 archive

IPTC Created Date: 2010-05-31
Release Date: 2010-05-31

IPTC and XMP Date/Time Created

See my original diary - Israeli Commandos Enter Mavi Marmara - Up to 16 Killed

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sun Jun 6th, 2010 at 02:51:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: IDF Forgeries Without Borders (none / 1)

I also set my camera date, as does everyone I know when they discover the date is wrong on their photos. They can even sort wrong on some computers.

Never underestimate their intelligence, always underestimate their knowledge.

Frank Delaney ~ Ireland

by siegestate (siegestate or beyondwarispeace.com) on Mon Jun 7th, 2010 at 03:17:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

IDF Deleted This Photo on Flickr (4.00 / 2)

IsraelMFA: Weapons found on Mavi Marmara

This photo is now missing, see link in my comment ...

Nikon D2Xs user: Itamar Moatty