BDS Turkey rallies in Ankara and Istanbul to protest an apparent deal to “normalize” relations between Turkey and Israel, asserting that there can be “no normalization with murderers.”
BDS Turkey issued press statements in front of the Foreign Affair Ministry in Ankara and Galatasaray High School in Istanbul on 25 December to protest Turkey’s steps toward normalizing ties with Israel.
The full text of the press statement issued in both cities is as follows:
Over the past week, we have learned that Turkey and Israel have reached a tentative agreement to normalize relations in preparation for a final deal following talks between representatives of the Turkish government and the illegitimate Israeli state. Given that both sides, as well as the media from both countries, confirmed the developments, it appears likely that diplomatic ties between Turkey and Israel will soon be repaired, that Turkey will begin purchasing natural gas from Tel Aviv and that Ankara will take a number of steps to ease Israel’s position.
Together with its ramifications, this is a categorically unacceptable deal that lays bare a dire situation. Above all else, the conditions that were imposed after the 2010 Mavi Marmara massacre for the restoration of diplomatic relations – namely, an apology, compensation and the lifting of the siege on Gaza – are not conditions that will suffice to normalize ties with the occupying regime or succeed in granting legitimacy to it. At present, however, it has become clear that the process of normalization has begun even without the fulfillment of these three conditions. We wonder how those that govern Turkey will explain this situation to the people of Gaza, whom they claim to protect and who have been subjected to eight years of an inhuman siege and who have yet to heal from the terrible attacks of summer 2014. Given that the only possible way to ending the siege on Gaza is the struggle of the Palestinian resistance organizations, as well as international pressure and sanctions, how will Turkey explain itself when it breaks it promises by abandoning the path that would help realize this goal? Even if President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says this agreement “will be beneficial for all the peoples of the region,” it is clear what the consequences will be for the people of Gaza.
Second, this agreement is entirely to the benefit of Israel. Leaving aside merely asking the people, how is it that Turkey could deign to close the legal proceedings opened by the families of the 31 May 2010 Mavi Marmara massacre without even consulting them, given that the massacre was committed by the Zionist regime against all peoples and that the cases were, above all else, a mechanism for the martyrs’ families to call the Zionist commanders to account? The draft deal also envisages the deportation of some Palestinians involved in the struggle that are currently residing in Turkey, with some reports indicating that Salih al-Aruri has already departed the country. These steps could be the beginning of a process that will result in pressure against Turkish citizens and organizations that stand shoulder to shoulder with the Palestinian cause. Indeed, the head of Mossad has promised to crush anti-Israeli groups around the world, and the present agreement is set to provide a foundation for such aims.
Third, the supposed reason for this agreement, namely, a solution to the natural gas crisis, speaks ipso facto to the severity of the situation. Thanks to the decision not to cancel free trade agreements following the “one minute” crisis in Davos, the bilateral Turkish-Israeli trade volume has reached 6 billion dollars. Purchasing natural gas from Tel Aviv will both provide important support to the Zionist regime and ensure that Turkey becomes an accomplice in the crimes being committed against the Palestinian people because what has been termed “Israeli gas” is actually the gas of the Palestinians. The occupiers Israel have been systematically plundering the Palestinian people’s natural gas and other natural resources for decades. If this agreement ultimately comes into force, we as Turkish citizens will be paying a thieving Israel when we pay our bills for what is actually Palestinian gas. As such, we want to know: Is this how you are a friend to Palestine?
The leaders of Turkey have made a serious error for which there can be no explanation. There can be no negotiations, agreements or normalization with murderers and occupiers.
As BDS Turkey (Boycott Israel for Palestine Initiative), we protest these efforts and demand that the Turkish government abandons the negotiating table with the Zionists because there can be no normalization with murderers. We remain committed to our demand to cut all military, political, economic, diplomatic, academic and cultural ties with the Zionist entity and call for a total boycott.
Our concrete demands remain as follows:
- End all meetings with the Zionist entity, which has murdered the Palestinian people;
- Declare that there will be absolutely no “normalization” with the illegitimate Israel state;
- Announce that the Turkish state will not play any role in the sale or transfer of natural gas reserves that belong to the Palestinian people;
- Deport representatives of the Zionist entity, not Palestinians;
- Cease making the Mavi Marmara case a bargaining chip between the two countries.
BDS Turkey (Boycott Israel for Palestine Initiative)
bdsturkiye.org
