Turkey summons U.S. envoy over UN rep's flotilla remarks

By Barak Ravid
August 4, 2010 
Haaretz
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/turkey-summons-u-s-envoy-over-un-rep-s-flotilla-remarks-1.305836

The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned America's charge d'affaires for a reprimand on Monday over remarks made by U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, earlier that day. Rice said a UN probe of Israel's raid in May on a Turkish-sponsored flotilla to Gaza is no substitute for the national probes being conducted by both Turkey and Israel.
The UN panel's mandate was drafted with Turkey's involvement and consent. But following the statements issued by Rice, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday announcing the start of the probe, many in both the Turkish government and the Turkish media said the committee had turned into a diplomatic flop for Ankara.
Rice's statement most upset the Turks, as it seemed to give a very narrow, restrictive interpretation of the committee's mandate. In particular, Turkey is furious the UN panel will not be able to summon Israeli officials and soldiers to testify.
"The U.S. statement limits the mission of the probe," a senior Turkish Foreign Ministry official complained to the Turkish paper Hurriyet Daily News yesterday. "Saying 'the probe is not a substitute for national investigations' is misleading."
The Turks also objected to the claim that the probe was meant to mend relations between Jerusalem and Ankara, the Turkish official said. "This problem is not just a matter between Turkey and Israel; it's an international problem, since there were citizens of 30 different countries on the flotilla," he said.
Turkey has not dropped its demand that Israel apologize for the raid and pay compensation to the wounded and the families of the dead; it is also hoping the UN probe will order Jerusalem to do so.
Ozdem Sanberk, a former director general of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, will serve as Turkey's representative on the UN panel. Israeli officials who know him describe him as a professional diplomat who is certainly not anti-Israel, and actually worked for years to try to bolster Turkish-Israeli relations.
Israel has not yet decided who its panel representative will be, but plans to appoint either a retired senior diplomat or a senior jurist.
One name bruited about at the Foreign Ministry yesterday was Oded Eran, a former ambassador to the European Union.
Israel and Turkey are still working to resolve other outstanding issues stemming from the raid.
Tomorrow, Turkish tugboats are expected to arrive at Haifa Port to tow three of the flotilla's six ships - including the Mavi Marmara, where all the casualties occurred - back to Turkey.
On Monday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry also summoned Israel's ambassador, Gabby Levy, for a rebuke over an unrelated issue: Defense Minister Ehud Barak's statement that Israel is worried by the close ties between the new head of Turkish intelligence and Iran, fearing Israeli military secrets might leak to Iran via Turkey.