Turkey lobbies for broader mandate for flotilla commission

Experts caution that the mandate and the scope of the power entrusted to such a commission will be very important in regard to the body’s eventual conclusions. But Israel and the international community are at odds on how to proceed with establishing the commission or what would be the mandate and powers of commission members.

Özden Sanberk, former undersecretary at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, underlined that the investigation’s mandate is very important.

“The question is what will the mandate of this international commission be? Will it also investigate the siege on Gaza and its humanitarian consequences? The investigation committee will determine the terms of reference. The terms of reference should include the embargo on Gaza. Here, Turkey’s public diplomacy will play a crucial role. It is extremely important for Turkey to keep its politically correct stance,” Sanberk told Today’s Zaman.

He added that while Turkey continues with its public diplomacy efforts, it should be very careful about its image and should not give any impression that in Turkey rights and freedoms are not respected, such as by partially blocking IP addresses belonging to Google. “These kinds of things can be used against Turkey during this process and might harm its diplomatic efforts,” he said.

A pre-dawn raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla last week by Israeli naval commandos left at least nine peace activists, all Turks, dead and dozens wounded. Israel is currently under heavy pressure to agree to an international investigation into the raid.

Sanberk underlined that both Israel and Turkey have not ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. “To the extent Turkey prefers to remain distant from international law, it creates problems for it in general and that applies in this in this particular case as well,” Sanberk said.

International Law Professor Hasan Köni from Galatasaray University underlined that even if Israel decided not to cooperate with the international probe, the committee will likely look into its claims that the Humanitarian Aid Foundation (İHH) has links to Hamas and al-Qaeda. “The UN report might include 50 pages of arguments underlying the brutality of the Israeli navy, but if includes 10 pages investigating the claims about the İHH’s alleged links to some organization that the West does not like, it may create a headache for Turkey,” he said.

According to Köni, in this respect the voting in the UN Security Council regarding sanctions against Iran will play a crucial role. “If Turkey is the only country to oppose the sanctions against Iran then Turkey can expect a goal in its net,” he told Today’s Zaman.

However Sanberk added that the civil society organizations are recognized actors in international politics and their sometimes disturbing actions have legitimacy, such as Greenpeace and its actions.

“International politics will not oppose the İHH just because of its Islamic roots. There should be previous convictions, strong evidence against them -- no one will oppose İHH just because of the claims of Israel. There should be strong proof. If the UN investigation finds strong proof, of course it will create problems for Turkey,” he said.

Both Köni and Sanberk think that the US will take no further action and that even if the reports suggest condemning Israel, the US, as a veto-holder on the UN Security Council, can block such a move. It will also not accept an investigation committee without an Israeli member.

Meanwhile, Israel says it will not accept an international probe. The Israeli government on Sunday rejected a proposal by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for an international investigation and said it had the right to launch its own inquiry.

“We are rejecting an international commission. We are discussing with the Obama administration a way in which our inquiry will take place,” Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, said on the US TV program “Fox News Sunday.” “Israel is a democratic nation. Israel has the ability and the right to investigate itself, not to be investigated by any international board,” Oren said.

The UN secretary-general had suggested establishing a panel that would be headed by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer, who is an expert on international maritime law, and include representatives from Turkey, Israel and the United States.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the proposal for a multinational panel with Ban in a telephone call on Saturday but told cabinet ministers from his right-wing Likud party on Sunday that Israel was exploring other options, political sources told news agencies.

Meanwhile Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said on Sunday they would follow up on the Israeli attack. Davutoğlu was speaking at a meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), during which he also held comprehensive talks with his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, on Iran’s nuclear program.

“There is a possibility of sanctions against Iran at the United Nations Security Council. Mottaki and I evaluated the recent developments,” Davutoğlu said.

“We hope that Israel will accept the proposal for the establishment of an international inquiry committee to find out the realities [of the situation]. If Israel does not accept such a proposal, it would show their guilt. It is out of the question for us to accept any justification for the killing of our citizens,” Davutoğlu said.