Greece Continues To Block #Flotilla2--But What About French Boat?

Greece is still making life difficult for the Flotilla--this time for the Canadian boat Tahrir:

A boat taking part in a flotilla seeking to break Israel's Gaza Strip sea blockade tried to leave the southern island of Crete Monday but was turned back by Greek forces, as the Athens government warned that lives could be lost if the mission goes forward.


The coast guard stopped the boat shortly after it set sail without permission from the port of Agios Nikolaos in northeastern Crete, and towed it back into port, the Greek Merchant Marine Ministry said.

David Heap, a Canadian passenger, said by telephone from the boat that there were 43 people on board, and more than 30 of them were Canadian. Others were from Italy, Belgium, Denmark, German, Turkey and Australia.

The situation with the French boat is not clear.

The original report was that the French member of the Flotilla actually set sail:

A small French pleasure craft slipped out of Greek waters Tuesday in an attempt to break Israeli's naval blockade on Gaza, reviving an international campaign that appeared to have ground to a halt.

The "Dignite al Karama" is so far the only boat in a planned flotilla organised by pro-Palestinian activists to set sail from Greece, after the authorities there blocked other vessels from leaving the port of Athens, Piraeus.

Reporter Joseph Dana tweeted that the French boat then returned to port on its own:

The French boat to Gaza is turning around and heading back to Greece. They do not want to be the only ones sailing #flotilla2

Later reports were that the departure of the French boat was merely symbolic:

Earlier Monday, activists on a French boat, the Louise Michel, unfurled the sails and revved the engine — but did not attempt to move from their position docked at a marina near the port of Piraeus — in protest of the Greek ban to sail.

"We are Europeans, we are here in Europe, and we are just saying that we are under (blockade) in Europe," said the boat's captain, Alain Connan. "That is absolutely not acceptable."

The claim that the Flotilla is under 'blockade' is a nice rhetorical flourish for the Flotilla members, but we have already seen how little these people really know about the legal ramifications of a blockade.

But they may be learning.

Hat tip: Elder of Ziyon and Challah Hu Akbar

Technorati Tag: Israel and Gaza Flotilla.