Dutch Journalists Abandon Flotilla
NGO Monitor has translated a Dutch news story about a number of its journalists gathered on Corfu to participate in the flotilla who have decided the project is not for them. Under the headline “Pers vertrouwt Gazaboot niet” (“The Press Doesn’t Trust Gaza Boat”) the story recounts tensions between organizers and journalists seeking information about flotilla participants, funding and other issues. The account notes:
Eric Beauchemin (47), a journalist for the ‘Wereldomroep’ (Dutch World Broadcast station): “I’ve been doing this work for 25 years, but never have I seen a more closed organization. When we would ask critical questions they would accuse us of being unprofessional. Restrictions were imposed on us that hadn’t been agreed upon beforehand. We were prohibited from telling which island we were on, even though they had promised we could.
The same reporter said of the activist participants: “Their gullibility is shocking. They are blinded by idealism.”
There was also reportedly dismay at the appearance of an operative with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, Amin Abou Rashed, though assurances had been given there would be no such Hamas connections.
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