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Article 1.
Today’s Zaman
The UN's Mavi Marmara report and
Turkish foreign policy
Cenap Çakmak

07 September 2011 -- The long-awaited UN report on the Mavi
Marmara incident has been finally published. The report, the release
of which was postponed for a while at Israel's request, was published
by The New York Times before an official statement was made by the
relevant UN authorities. Israel is allegedly responsible for the leak of
the report.
Sources also say that shortly before the official deadline, US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked Turkey to agree to the
postponement of the announcement of the report to late September.
But the report was leaked, likely because it became evident that the
report supports Israel's standpoint on the incident.
The report is significant for two reasons: First, the report now serves
as a legal justification for Israel's Gaza policy, including the naval
blockade as well as the raid Israeli forces carried out against the Mavi
Marmara in May 2010. Secondly, Turkey viewed the report as a
potential major asset, fortifying its case in the international arena as it
pursues a cooling foreign policy towards Israel in connection with the
Mavi Marmara incident. Apparently, however, it is no longer useful
for Turkey to prove it has been doing the right thing. After the
publication of the report, Turkey will have to expend greater effort to
justify its stance and make its position acceptable to the world.
What does the report say? Briefly, the report confirms and supports
everything Israel has already said about the Mavi Marmara incident.
To summarize its points:

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