Compare and contrast - Flotilla participant claims and reality

The BBC have a snide little page of claims reporting as facts the claims of four participants in the flotilla. The first member of the flotilla interviewed is Norman Paech, described as 'a former member of Germany's Left Party' who states that

'"The soldiers were all masked, carrying big guns and were extremely brutal."

Mr Paech said he only saw three activists resisting.

"They had no knives, no axes, only sticks that they used to defend themselves," he told reporters.

But he said he could "not rule out" that others used weapons somewhere else on the boat.'

That would be same Norman Paech who was described thus in 2008 by Hans-Peter Uhl, a Christian Social Union MP:

'representatives of the modern anti-Semitism that hides behind anti-Zionism." Paech is an "anti-Semite" because of his anti-Israel statements, according to Uhl, who cited Paech's description of Israel waging a "war of extermination" during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.'

There is more about Norman Paech on the internet I suggest you read up on it and then decide whether he is an impartial witness as the BBC would like us to believe.

The second witness is 'Turkish activist Nilufer Cetin' who

'told reporters she hid with her baby in the bathroom of her cabin aboard the Mavi Marmara.'

Interestingly although she hid in her cabin she is able to state that

"It [the violence] was extremely bad and brutal. The ship turned into a lake of blood."

Violence by whom, the videos I posted yesterday show the Israeli commandos being attacked with rods and kicked and beaten before any shots were fired. I do like the last line of Ms Cetin's piece

"...there are thousands of babies in Gaza. If we had reached Gaza we would have played with them and taken them food."

Can you feel the emotional cry of "Will nobody think of the children"?

The third witness is Activist Dimitris Gielalis who is allowed to claim :

'"Suddenly from everywhere we saw inflatables coming at us, and within seconds fully equipped commandos came up on the boat," he said.

"They came up and used plastic bullets, we had beatings, we had electric shocks, any method we can think of, they used."

Mr Gielalis said the boat's captain was beaten for refusing to leave the wheel, and had sustained non-life-threatening injuries, while a cameraman filming the raid was hit with a rifle butt in the eye.

"Of course we weren't prepared for a situation of war," he said. '

The fourth witness is Aris Papadokostopoulos who 'was aboard the Free Mediterranean, travelling behind the Mavi Marmara and carrying mainly Greek and Swedish activists.' He makes the following claim which the BBC do not describe as a claim they just accept as fact:

"Some people were hit by clubs and electric shocks. During their interrogation, many of them were badly beaten in front of us,"

The BBC describe anything said by the Israelis as a claim but accept as fact anything said by the 'activists'. The BBC have once again shown by their biased reporting of an Israeli action that they have no place as a broadcaster financed by a compulsory tax. I now call upon anyone 'affected' by the BBC coverage to withhold their licence fee and to explain to the BBC why they are doing so.