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Mavi Marmara Crew Members Describe IHH Preparations for Violent Confrontation

(Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center) The videotaped statements of two Mavi Marmara crew members show that preparations for a violent confrontation with IDF forces were put in motion two hours before the Israeli Navy boarded the ship. On the upper deck the crew discovered IHH operatives cutting the ship's railings with metal disks they had brought with them into lengths suitable to be used as clubs. The crew members tried to stop the operatives but were unsuccessful. Q: Who did the disks belong to? A: I don't know, they didn't belong to the ship. We don't have equipment like that on board. On deck there were metal poles with clips for cables, when I got there they had been cut. Q: You seem to be saying that the people from IHH were in control of the ship. Did the crew need their permission to move around the ship? A: Definitely, they didn't let people they didn't know move around. Q: They didn't let the passengers and crew go from one deck to another? A: They could go anywhere except to the control center they set up on the bridge. Q: How many IHH operatives were there on the upper deck? A: Forty. Q: You're referring to the group that joined the ship in Istanbul? A: Yes.
2010-06-11 09:07:56
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