“Why Is the U.S. Government Deaf to What Has Been Done to My Son?” Asks Father of an American Murdered on the Gaza Flotilla

uruknet.info

by Ann Wright

Through his lawyers in Turkey, Ahmet Dogan, the father of Furkan Dogan, the 19 year old American citizen who was executed by Israeli commandos has challenged the U.S. government its lack concern about the death of his son.

Dogan was killed by commandos who shot him twice in the head and three times in other parts of his body on May 31, 2010 on the Mavi Marmara in the Gaza flotilla.

"Up to this moment, I still do not understand why the United States government is deaf to what has been done to my son, an American citizen. I urge the U.S. government to act to defend the rights of my son. I also would like to know why the U.S. voted against the Gaza Flotilla Report of the UN Fact Finding Mission at the Human Rights Council last week, as that report included information about the execution of my son, " said Dogan. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vincent-warren/the-us-must-answer-what-d_b_755709.html)

U.S. votes against the U.N. Human Rights Council Fact Finding Mission report

The only country to vote against acceptance of the U.N Human Rights Council fact finding report (http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/15session/A.HRC.15.21_en.pdf ) on the Gaza flotilla, was the United States.

Mark Kornblau, a spokesman for the U.S. mission to the United Nations, said "The report's language, tone and conclusions are unbalanced." According to the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/29/AR2010092907857.html?sub=AR), another senior U.S. official said the Human Rights Council had rushed the establishment of the panel and "not made adequate efforts to get Israeli cooperation in the investigation," although the report itself details the numerous attempts by the fact finding mission to gain cooperation from the Israeli government.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office called the U.N report "biased" and "distorted." In a radio interview, Israel's deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon said the report was "a big lie."

The United States has not conducted its own investigation into the death Furkan Dogan, but instead is relying on Israel to conduct "a thorough investigation" into his death and to "share its findings" with the U.S.

U.S. Passengers Send Letter to Secretary of State Clinton about U.S. Government Lack of Effort in Conducting an Investigation of the Death of a U.S. Citizen

On October 6, Furkan Dogan's father joined the U.S. passengers on the Gaza Flotilla in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that stated that they "are appalled at the lack of any visible, active effort on the part of any agency in our government to conduct and release an independent investigation of the killing of one and assaults on other Americans by a foreign military force, the Israeli commandos." (http://www.freegaza.org/attachments/1255_Letter.pdf)

The U.S. passengers also challenged the Obama administration's protection of criminal actions by Israel at the expense of American citizens. "Protecting Israeli actions, particularly the complete reliance on its reports on the acts of its own military at the expense of American citizens, is an absolute dereliction of the responsibilities of our government. The State Department has allied itself with Israel, ignoring its responsibilities to its own citizens. We have been abandoned by our own government, and we demand an investigation of why and how the Department of State and the American Embassy in Tel Aviv have totally failed in their responsibilities to us."

With passengers' video and photo evidence of the attacks on the Mavi Marmara and the five other ships of the flotilla still in the hands of the Israeli government after four months, the passengers wrote: "We are also angered by lack of any concerted effort by the State Department to secure our possessions. We appreciate the efforts of junior and mid-level officials, but without the full weight of the senior leadership of the State Department, the Israeli government will continue to ignore our concerns."

New Report Gives Minute-by-Minute Timeline of the Israeli Attack on the Gaza Flotilla

Since the U.S. government cannot find the time to conduct its own investigation, U.S. officials might at least look at the 193 page report "Timeline & Inconsistencies Report Relating to the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla Attack" researched by the International Bureau of Humanitarian NGOs (IBH) and the Friends of Charities Association (FOCA) that was published this week that provides a minute-by minute timeline of the Israeli military attack on the Gaza Flotilla.

The report is based on publicly available accounts from the flotilla organizers and participants, ships' logs, reports, photos and video released by the Israeli government, news reports from around the world, the report of the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH), and the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Fact Finding Mission report.

A key part of the report is the evidence provided from film footage of the attack. Official videos from the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) as well as from the Israeli Eiland Team investigation are cited in the report, in addition to video taken by one passenger that escaped confiscation by the Israeli authorities. The "Inconsistencies" portion of the report contrasts the different reporting of the incident, and includes clarifying analysis.

(http://www.foca.net/media/documents/timeline-inconsistencies-gaza-flotilla-attack-31052010.pdf)

Several of the videos that were released by the Israeli Foreign Ministry and IDF on the Internet and on media broadcasts to support its version of events were found to have been digitally enhanced, computer-manufactured or fraudulent. The report provides screen shots of examples of the computer-generated segments within videos released by the Israeli government, several of which, although already exposed as false, were integrated into the Israeli military report "Eiland Team's Flotilla Incident Timeline."

10-12 Ships in the Next Gaza Flotilla

While investigations continue concerning the Israeli attack on the May, 2010 Gaza flotilla and on the Jewish German boat "Irene" on September 26, 2010, (http://jewishboattogaza.org/), citizen activists from around the world are fundraising for ships to participate in the next flotilla to challenge the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Organizers of the next flotilla are working with groups that may have 10-12 ships in the next flotilla.

U.S. Ship Named "Audacity of Hope"

Join us to launch a U.S. ship in the next flotilla. In a challenge to U.S. complicity in the blockade of Gaza, the U.S. ship will be called "The Audacity of Hope." (www.ustogaza.org)

Ann Wright served 29 years in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves and retired as a Colonel. She was a U.S. diplomat for 16 years and resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the Iraq war. She travelled to Gaza three times in 2009 after the Israeli attack on Gaza that killed 1,440, wounded 5,000 and left 50,000 homeless. She was an organizer of the Gaza Freedom March in December, 2009, that brought 1350 persons from 44 countries to Cairo, Egypt, and was one of the passengers on the Gaza flotilla. She is the co-author of "Dissent: Voices of Conscience."