KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has sought the assistance of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to repatriate Malaysian volunteers in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) mission who were detained by Israeli forces.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the request was made after discussions with several world leaders, including Erdogan, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“I have requested the good offices of President Erdogan to, if possible, bring our (Malaysian) volunteers from any location around Israel to Istanbul on a special Turkish aircraft.
“From Istanbul, we will bring our Malaysians home. Several preliminary understandings have been reached since this morning,” he told reporters after performing Friday prayers at Al-Khadijah Mosque, Jalan Pantai Sentral 2, in Lembah Pantai yesterday.
Earlier, the Prime Minister said he contacted Sumud Nusantara Command Centre director-general Datuk Sani Araby Abdul Alim Araby to relay the government’s wishes in seeing the return of the Malaysians.
“As patron of the Sumud Nusantara Humanitarian Mission, I conveyed my regards to the families and guaranteed that I am closely monitoring the situation,” he said in a Facebook post.
Sani Araby, in a statement, said Anwar had actively been engaging in talks with key international leaders, including Erdogan, Rubio and the Emir of Qatar to intensify efforts for the Malaysians’ return.
Previously, Wisma Putra confirmed that it received information that all 23 Malaysians detained by Israel during their participation in the GSF convoy on Thursday are safe and in good health and will be deported to third countries.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said it would ensure that they would be provided with the necessary consular assistance for their safe return to Malaysia.
“The Malaysian government will continue to safeguard the safety of Malaysians abroad.
“The detention of the GSF participants is unlawful and we insist that those detained should be treated in accordance with international law and released without delay,” it said.
In a related note, Anwar described Israel’s labelling of GSF activists as terrorists as “insolent”.
He said the GSF’s voyage to Gaza was a humanitarian mission aimed at helping the Palestinian people who are oppressed by the Zionist regime.
“Whose voice is this? From terrorist Israel, the biggest terrorist.
“These (GSF) participants did not bring weapons, did not kill anyone. They brought food, drinks and medicine.
“How can GSF be called terrorists? This is an insolent statement,” he said yesterday.
Anwar was responding to remarks by Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who, in video footage, termed GSF activists detained by the regime as terrorists.
