Speaking at a press conference Adana's deputy mayor Mustafa Tuncel said that he condemned Israel's attack on aid ships and also Sunday night's terrorist incident in Iskenderun, Turkey. He said a festival should not go ahead when people were mourning such events.
Turkish critics have said the festival should go ahead not as a celebration but as a focus for promoting inter-cultural understanding. The event was to have featured Greek director Theo Anegelopoulos as guest of honour as well as a special programme Palestine: Longing for Peace with Palestinian filmmakers.
According to the Turkish daily newspaper Sabah the festival is likely to be rescheduled for September of this year.