Aid convoy returns to Turkey amid more fracas

The Viva Palestina international aid convoy has experienced new crises and problems since it left Gaza to return home.

Egyptian police attempted to detain five people who were engaged in skirmishes in the port city of El Arish at the Cairo International Airport. In response, some passengers in the terminal building protested against the police while others voiced statements of support aboard the plane. A total of 322 people, including 98 foreigners, arrived in İstanbul after a six-hour delay. Meanwhile, Egyptian officials declared that they would not allow future humanitarian aid convoys to pass through their territory because of the recent incidents.

Members of the convoy -- which was allowed to stay in Gaza for only 34 hours -- endured a long and tiring journey home after skirmishes in El Arish. About 450 people who arrived at the Rafah border crossing at noon on Friday had to wait for hours to be processed by Egyptian authorities. The convoy was only able to proceed after 9 p.m. and was accompanied by a police escort on its journey to Cairo, which took 11 hours instead of the usual five.

When the group boarded a plane to leave the country, Egyptian authorities said the passports of five people -- two of them Turkish -- were lost after 130 people boarded the plane. This triggered another protest. Those waiting in the terminal building did not want to board the plane and the police did not allow those already on board to leave. The fact that those whose passports were said to have been lost were the same people who engaged in skirmishes in El Arish further exacerbated reactions. The six-hour crisis ended when the Egyptian officials backpedaled. When the lost passports were returned, the passengers waiting in the terminal boarded the plane.

A large group of people greeted the convoy members upon their arrival in İstanbul. The chairman of the Humanitarian Aid Foundation (İHH) set about organizing another convoy immediately after his return.

Egypt has already declared it will not allow further humanitarian aid to pass through the Rafah crossing. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said members of the Viva Palestina convoy had engaged in hostile acts on Egyptian territory and committed offenses. He added that according to a new arrangement, aid arriving via the port of El Arish will be delivered to the Egyptian Red Crescent for transfer to Gaza.

Meanwhile, speaking to the Egyptian Al-Ahram newspaper, Egyptian Ambassador to Turkey Ala Eldin al-Hadidi claimed that the Turkish press had unfairly condemned Egypt. Noting that the press played a great role in encouraging people to hold demonstrations in front of Egypt’s diplomatic offices in Turkey, al-Hadidi said: “In particular, a famous speaker claimed that Israeli Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu had called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and told him to call Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to stop the convoy. Such wrong and misleading news played a role in making people react against Egypt.”

Source: Today's Zaman.
Link: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-198172-102-aid-convoy-returns-to-turkey-amid-more-fracas.html.