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Ó Luain recovers after ordeal
10.06.10
by Eamonn MacDermott, Inishowen Independent
FIACHRA Ó Luain, the Carndonagh man who was held by
Israeli authorities after being arrested on board an
aid flotilla bound for Gaza, has said that no one
should listen to the "Israeli propaganda machine".
Mr Ó Luain was speaking as he recovered after being
arrested and brutalised while in Israeli custody.
He told the Inishowen Independent: “My bruises are
healing and the physical injuries are getting better
but as anyone who has been through the trauma of
seeing people murdered and brutalised the
psychological damage can remain.
“But I have been well looked after since my return
unfortunately the Palestinians of Gaza cannot get
respite from their ordeal.” |
The Carndonagh man was
scathing of what he termed the "fascist" Israeli
government, a word he said he used deliberately. “My
focus from here on in will be to fight the lies of
the Israeli government and their ‘slick and well
oiled’ PR machine,” he said. “It is time that the
international community stopped listening to Israel.
Look at the way they portrayed what happened to us.
“They are trying to divide us saying that the
Europeans were ‘OK’ but those ‘pesky |
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Turks’ were a different
matter.
“Everyone on board that flotilla was a peace
activist, people who were no longer prepared to sit
back and watch children be murdered by an Israeli
imposed siege.
“They are also trying to imply that we were Al Qaeda
supporters or the like. We had MPs,
parliamentarians, religious people, we even had the
Greek Orthodox Bishop of Jerusalem on board and he
was brutalised as well.
“We had people who worked in the White House under
Ronnie Reagan. Hardly Al Qaeda supporters.”
Mr Ó Luain went on: “I have say I was overwhelmed
with the support we have received at home and abroad
and I am extremely grateful for the messages of
support my mother received. That was very important
to me.
“I was unaware of the international reaction until I
reached Istanbul and it was great to see.
“I always knew that Donegal and Ireland have been
strong supporters of causes like this and it was
gratifying to see how they rallied behind us.”
The Carndonagh man said that problems with some of
the ships in the flotilla might possibly have been
sabotage.
He said: “It is difficult to prove for definite, but
it is possible that a screw that was missing on the
propeller of the Rachel Corrie was as a result of
sabotage.
“There is also a possibility of sabotage on the
other ships the Challenger I and Challenger II.
“As I said it is possible and I don’t want to be
making wild allegations but it cannot be ruled out.”
As for the future Fiachra said that he was
determined to continue his work to bring relief to
Gaza.
He said: “It is intended that a Jewish boat will
soon make the journey to Gaza organised by a German
Jewish group.
“Then we are hoping to assemble hundreds of ships to
make the run to Gaza. We have to remember that what
happened to us is not the story. We are only
conduits and while we were treated like Palestinians
for a few days the people in Gaza are being treated
like that on a daily basis.
“Israel has to learn that this is not going to go
away and we are determined to continue until Israel
does what they are legally obliged to do under
international law and lift their blockade on Gaza.” |
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