http://rt.com/news/erdogan-slams-eu-reaction-egypt-695/
Erdogan lashes out at EU, UN over Egypt v Turkey unrest reaction
Turkish PM Erdogan has criticized the EU for not condemning the violent crackdown on demonstrators in Egypt, which resulted in dozens of deaths, strongly enough. He believes the EU’s stance on less violent Turkish protests was unfairly tough.
At least 72 people were killed and hundreds injured during Saturday’s clashes in Cairo between supporters of the ousted President Morsi and security forces, according to Egypt's Health Ministry officials. A further nine people died in clashes in Alexandria.
Commenting on the bloodshed, the office of the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, issued a statement, which said that she “deeply deplores the loss of life” during the demonstrations and "calls on all actors to refrain from violence and to respect the principles of peaceful protest."
Still, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at the EU for too soft an approach towards the deaths of Egyptian protestors in comparison with its tough criticism of the use of tear gas by Turkish police to disperse the recent massive anti-government rallies.
Commenting on the bloodshed, the office of the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, issued a statement, which said that she “deeply deplores the loss of life” during the demonstrations and "calls on all actors to refrain from violence and to respect the principles of peaceful protest."
Still, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at the EU for too soft an approach towards the deaths of Egyptian protestors in comparison with its tough criticism of the use of tear gas by Turkish police to disperse the recent massive anti-government rallies.
"Those who were silent when Egypt's national will was massacred are silent again when people are massacred. What happened to the EU [and] European values, where are those who go around giving lessons in democracy?" Erdogan asked in a speech to a group of businessmen in Istanbul, as cited by Reuters.
The EU was not the only target for Erdogan’s sarcasm.
"Where is the United Nations?” he went on to ask. “Where are those who created a brouhaha when Turkish police, in a completely justified and legitimate way, used water [cannon] and pepper spray now when there is a coup and a massacre in Egypt?”
"Where is the United Nations?” he went on to ask. “Where are those who created a brouhaha when Turkish police, in a completely justified and legitimate way, used water [cannon] and pepper spray now when there is a coup and a massacre in Egypt?”
Later in the day, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the US urged “an independent and impartial inquiry” into the deadly clashes in Egypt and called on the country’s authorities to “respect the right of peaceful protest.”
“In this extremely volatile environment, Egyptian authorities have a moral and legal obligation to respect the right of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression,” Kerry’s statement reads.
“In this extremely volatile environment, Egyptian authorities have a moral and legal obligation to respect the right of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression,” Kerry’s statement reads.
This is not the first Prime Minister Erdogan has lashed out at the West. Shortly after massive anti-government protests began in Turkey in late May, triggered by the authorities plans to demolish Istanbul’s Gezi Park, the EU and the US condemned forceful methods used by Turkish police to quell the crowds. Back then Erdogan responded by saying neither the EU nor the US had any right to criticize the actions undertaken by Turkish law enforcers.
"Those who are trying to teach us lessons, where were they when the Wall Street events in America were unfolding? Tear gas was used, 17 people died, this happened. It happened in the UK, in France, in Germany and to a greater extent in Greece. These protests happen in these countries and they're all EU members," Erdogan said at an EU-Turkey conference in Istanbul on June 7.
Egypt official warns Brotherhood again | ||
Egypt's interim interior minister issues second warning to pro-Morsi rallies as Muslim Brotherhood vows to continue.
Last Modified: 28 Jul 2013 14:28
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Egypt's health ministry said 72 people were killed in clashes with pro-Morsi supporters and security forces [Reuters]
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| Egypt's interior minister has pledged to deal decisively with any attempts to destabilise the country, a thinly veiled warning to supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi occupying two squares in Cairo in a month-long stand-off with the security forces. Sunday's warning came as authorities said that the death toll in weekend clashes between Morsi's backers and security forces near one of the sit-ins had reached 72, in the deadliest single outbreak of violence since the July 3 military coup.
"I assure the people of Egypt that the police are determined to maintain security and safety to their nation and are capable of doing so," Mohamed Ibrahim told a graduation ceremony at the national police academy. "We will very decisively deal with any attempt to undermine stability," said Ibrahim, who is in charge of the police. In an apparent show of support for the police, a smiling military chief, Abdel Fatah el Sisi, turned up at a graduation ceremony on Sunday broadcast live on state television, receiving a standing ovation from the recruits. Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim hailed him as "Egypt's devoted son". Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid, reporting from Cairo, said his comments come off the back of events over the past week, beginning with the "popular mandate" given to the army to "fight terrorism". "By association, the police also got the same mandate. We've already seen them co-operating on the ground, and we've already heard they will be co-operating together in the coming days." However, in one of the first signs of doubt from within the interim cabinet installed after the military takeover, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Ziad Bahaa El-Din said the government must not copy the "oppressive and exclusionary policies" of its foes. "Our position must remain fixed on the need to provide legal guarantees not only for the members of the Brotherhood, but for every Egyptian citizen. Excessive force is not permitted," El-Din wrote on Facebook. And in another sign of unease, the Tamarud youth protest movement, which mobilised millions of people against Morsi and has fully backed the army, expressed alarm at an announcement that the interior minister was reviving the feared secret political police shut down after Mubarak was toppled. Sporadic clashes Earlier on Sunday, supporters of Morsi pledged to press ahead with their protests, a day after the bloody clashes at in Cairo. Sporadic violence was also reported nationwide overnight, including in the Suez Canal city of Port Said, where two people were killed. Gehad El-Haddad, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, said demonstrators were angry but "hugely defiant" after Saturday's deaths. "There are feelings of agony and anger, but also a very strong feeling of determination," he said. "People are hugely defiant," he added.  Officials from Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and their allies decried what they called a new "massacre" against their side, only weeks after July 8 clashes with army troops in Cairo that left more than 50 Morsi supporters dead. The UN's human rights chief Navi Pillay issued also condemned the violence. In a Sunday statement, she said: "Despite all the warnings, all the calls for restraint, more than 150 Egyptians have died during protests over the past month, not just in Cairo but in other cities as well," she said. "I fear for the future of Egypt if the military and other security forces, as well as some demonstrators, continue to take such a confrontational and aggressive approach. Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood have the right to protest peacefully like anyone else." Pillay called for a "credible, independent investigation" into the killings and punishment for those responsible. "Given what has happened in recent days, further protests are inevitable, and the onus is clearly on both the security forces and the protesters to ensure there is no repetition of yesterday's terrible and deeply tragic events." Neither side in the Egyptian conflict, however, has shown much taste for reconciliation. | ||
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