CICA TERM PRESIDENCY STATEMENT OF TURKEY
Istanbul, June 8, 2010
The 3rd Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia Summit has ended with the acceptance of the vote on the Political Declaration that reflects the political will and vision of the member states. There are other matters not accepted against a great majority of the members’ will, though. Turkey’s Term Presidency feels responsible to air these matters with a Presidency Statement.
With our responsibility to handle the menaces that have the potential to imperil international and regional peace and security, all member states but one have expressed their concerns and condemned the Israeli raid upon the international flotilla that was carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip in international waters on May 31, 2010.
All members except one have considered this action to be an open infringement of the UN Charter and the principles of international law. They have also harshly condemned the killing of civilians as a result of this intervention. They have lent their support to the establishment of an independent international inquiry commission by the UN to investigate the incident transparently and credibly according to the Statement of the UNSC Chairman in order to prevent such incidents from recurring and to protect the principle of accountability. In this respect, they have demanded the inhumane embargo upon the Gaza Strip that is destructive to the regional peace and security be lifted as soon as possible.
A great majority of the CICA members have further demanded a Middle East free from nuclear weapons and appreciated the decision taken that through the proposal of Egypt and the Arab countries of the 2010 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), a conference will be held in 2012 which all the Middle Eastern countries will attend.
A great majority of the CICA members also demanded that Israel side with the NPT as soon as possible and that it open all its nuclear plants to the comprehensive inspection of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
They have called on Israel to retreat from the Arabian soil under its occupation since 1967, demanding that a free Palestinian State whose capital is East Jerusalem be recognized and that the problems of the Palestinian immigrants be solved based upon the UN resolutions.
A great majority of the CICA members also welcomed the establishment of consolidated cooperation between CICA, ICO and OSCE.