Turkish National Assembly Human Rights Commission chairman Mehmet Elkatmis stated on Tuesday morning that the commission had decided to send a delegat

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08.15.2006 Tuesday - ISTANBUL 16:34

Turkish Parliament Rights Commission to Send Delegation to Lebanon
By Cihan News Agency
Tuesday, August 15, 2006 zaman.com

Turkish National Assembly Human Rights Commission chairman Mehmet Elkatmis stated on Tuesday morning that the commission had decided to send a delegation to Lebanon in order to report on the current situation in the country.
Mr. Elkatmis made his remarks during a visit by the Lebanese Ambassador to Ankara, Georges H. Siam, to the Turkish National Assembly.
Lebanese Ambassador Siam expressed his thanks to Turkey which he said had always been ready to support Lebanon.
Speaking on the situation in the Middle East region, Ambassador Siam said "If a doctor prescribes the same drug to his patient for 60 years to no avail, then he should sit down and rethink it. The drug which Israel has prescribed for over 60 years has produced nothing but destruction and war."
National Assembly Human Rights Commission chairman Elkatmis qualified Israel's actions in Lebanon over the past month as ‘savagery and massacre.’
"A decision has been taken to travel to the region in order to see the confusion which is being experienced there. We intend to go to the region very soon with our colleagues," Elkatmis stated.
He also added that he personally was in favor of sending Turkish troops to Lebanon as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force.
The Lebanon war, which began when Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers on July 12, ended with a U.N. backed cease-fire on Monday morning.
The resulting Israeli response to the Hezbollah kidnapping, widely condemned around the world as disproportionate, resulted in the deaths of over 1100 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and destroyed Lebanon's infrastructure causing an estimated 2.5 billion dollars worth of damage. One million Lebanese civilians were displaced by the fighting.
Hezbollah attacks killed 157 Israelis, 117 of which were soldiers, mostly killed in intense fighting in south Lebanon.
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