Israel Matzav

Of course: Erdogan blames Israel for coup in Egypt

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has stated that he considers Mohammed Morsi, who was ousted by the military in early July, to be the president of Egypt.

“Currently, my president in Egypt is Morsi because he was elected by the people. Therefore, if we don't consider the situation like this, we would disregard the people of Egypt. Disregarding the will of the Egyptian people means disregarding yourself because in Turkey we respect the will of the people. We would respect the coup regime if they had won at the ballot box,” said Erdoğan at a fast-breaking dinner.

Stating that it is not the duty of the army to govern the country, Erdoğan underlined that the sole role of an army is to protect a country's borders.

“Why is there a ballot box? From the results of the box, a government would emerge through the will of the people and that government would govern the country. That government may be successful or not. If the government stops being successful, then the ballot box will come to the fore. When it comes to the fore, then you can say that the government has failed,” said Erdoğan.

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Referring to the Gezi demonstrations, which began at the end of May in protest of government plans for the redevelopment of Gezi Park in İstanbul's Taksim Square and turned to nation-wide anti-government protests, Erdoğan maintained that there the incidents in Egypt and Turkey were not dissimilar.

“The origin of the incidents in both countries is the same. I will declare what that origin is when the time comes. It is saved in our memory cards,” said Erdoğan.

Labels: Egypt-Turkey alliance, Egyptian regime change, Mohammed Morsy, Muslim Brotherhood, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish spring

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:52 AM