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TURKISH PM ACCUSES WESTERN, ARAB STATES OF "DOUBLE STANDARDS" ON EGYPT
July 19, 2013 - 19:17 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accused Western
and Arab nations of "double standards" for failing to condemn the
overthrow of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, whose Muslim
Brotherhood like Erdogan has Islamist roots, Reuters said.
Turkey has emerged as one of the fiercest international critics of what
it has called an "unacceptable coup" after Egypt's powerful military
shunted the country's elected leader from office earlier this month.
Although the United States has expressed concern at Morsi's removal
and called for a swift return to democracy, as has the European
Union, it has stopped short of calling it a coup, which might have
led to sanctions.
Gulf Arab states, which see Egypt as a strategic ally against any
threat from non-Arab Iran, celebrated his departure with palpable
relief.
"Countries which embrace and care about democracy should not behave
with double standards towards these kinds of events and should say
something is wrong when it is wrong," Erdogan told Western, Arab and
other ambassadors late on Thursday.
"Those who extol democracy when they meet with us, saying 'one must
not compromise on democracy', we want to see their backbone," Erdogan
told his guests at a dinner to break the Muslim Ramadan fast.
Erdogan asked why the world stayed silent over the at least 99 people
who have died since Morsi was ousted, more than half of them when
troops fired on Islamist protesters on July 8.
"Why aren't you speaking up? Come on, speak up against this. There's
no point in being ambivalent," he told the diplomats seated around
the room at party headquarters in Ankara.
"If you are not going to speak up here, where are you going you
to speak?"
July 19, 2013 - 19:17 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accused Western
and Arab nations of "double standards" for failing to condemn the
overthrow of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, whose Muslim
Brotherhood like Erdogan has Islamist roots, Reuters said.
Turkey has emerged as one of the fiercest international critics of what
it has called an "unacceptable coup" after Egypt's powerful military
shunted the country's elected leader from office earlier this month.
Although the United States has expressed concern at Morsi's removal
and called for a swift return to democracy, as has the European
Union, it has stopped short of calling it a coup, which might have
led to sanctions.
Gulf Arab states, which see Egypt as a strategic ally against any
threat from non-Arab Iran, celebrated his departure with palpable
relief.
"Countries which embrace and care about democracy should not behave
with double standards towards these kinds of events and should say
something is wrong when it is wrong," Erdogan told Western, Arab and
other ambassadors late on Thursday.
"Those who extol democracy when they meet with us, saying 'one must
not compromise on democracy', we want to see their backbone," Erdogan
told his guests at a dinner to break the Muslim Ramadan fast.
Erdogan asked why the world stayed silent over the at least 99 people
who have died since Morsi was ousted, more than half of them when
troops fired on Islamist protesters on July 8.
"Why aren't you speaking up? Come on, speak up against this. There's
no point in being ambivalent," he told the diplomats seated around
the room at party headquarters in Ankara.
"If you are not going to speak up here, where are you going you
to speak?"