KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 3, 2010) : Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, wife of the prime minister, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have been singled out by a British politician for their exemplary efforts to help push for the Viva Palestina humanitarian aid convoy to reach its destination in the Gaza Strip of Palestine.

George Galloway, a UK politician who was leading the convoy, had told the Al Jazeera TV network that the convoy, carrying essentials and medical aid for Palestinians trapped by an Israeli blockade, must be allowed to proceed.

In a report filed on Dec 28, entitled "Fighting to Break the Gaza Siege", the network had quoted Galloway as saying that medicines brought by the convoy "are in a race against time of their expiry date and are getting spoiled under the desert sun, whilst people in Gaza die for the want of them." "The government of Turkey and the respected Premier (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan are trying their best, as is the former prime minister of Malaysia, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, as well as the wife of the current prime minister in Kuala Lumpur," he was quoted as saying in the report.

Calloway also said that he had written to Queen Rania of Jordan asking her to contact Madame Susan Mubarak, first lady of Egypt and the head of Egyptian Red Crescent.

He said there were more than 200 trucks and 500 people from 17 different countries who gave up their Christmas holidays to try and help one and a half million Arabs and Muslims in Gaza.

"We are four hours away, across the Red Sea from approaching Rafah but an Arab government will not allow us.

"The question is: What are 300 million Arabs going to do about this continued slow, quiet massacre of their brothers behind the wire?"

Calloway said the 500 members of the Viva Palestina Convoy to Gaza spent Christmas in a car park in Aqaba after Egypt refused to help them.

He said previously, so many Turks, Arabs and British were together in this town and they were fighting the first World War against each other.

However, he said, now they were fighting to break through the siege on the Palestinian people in Gaza.

"There will be enough time afterwards to review everyone’s role in the sorry Christmas story but for now I am appealing to anyone and everyone to help us reach Gaza," he said. - Bernama