By EurActivTurkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an outspoken supporter of Egypt’s ousted President Mohamed Morsi, lashed out at the European Union for remaining idle despite massacres in Egypt, Syria and the Palestinian territories.At a press conference held at Ankara airport before his departure for Turkmenistan yesterday (15 August), Erdogan said democracy throughout the world would be called into question if the West failed to take serious steps.
“You have ignored [the Palestinian territories], you have ignored Syria and still do,” Erdogan said, adding: “At this stage what right do you have to speak of democracy, of universal values, of human rights and freedoms?”
At least 578 people were killed and thousands wounded on Wednesday (14 August) when security forces cleared Muslim Brotherhood protest camps.
Erdogan called Wednesday’s incidents a massacre and said they had resulted from the 3 July military coup.
“Those who remain silent and indifferent to the massacre in Egypt, are among the culprits,” the Prime Minister said, according to Turkish press reports.
He urged the Western world to react against the bloodiest massacre in Egypt since Morsi was overthrown.
“Coup makers massacred those who wanted their votes to count in a democracy. The West never said that was a coup although they were confessing it was a coup in our private talks,” Erdogan said.
“Those who resisted against the military coup in Egypt, did not resort to violence, did not use weapons […] The Egyptian people will gain their rights sooner or later. One day those pharaohs will face a Moses who will end the tyranny,” he said.
Erdogan’s rule has been marked by his efforts to garner Turkey diplomatic clout in the Middle East. But he was severely criticised by the West for the handling of recent protests in Turkey that left several dead and thousands injured.
Senior European Union diplomats will meet in Brussels on 19 August to assess the situation in Egypt and possible EU action, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told Reuters yesterday.
The diplomats will discuss convening EU foreign ministers, but no decision on when ministers might meet has been taken.
“In the meantime, the High Representative (Ashton) is in touch with colleagues from the EU and international community,” the spokesman said. – Eurasia Review
