Morsi supporters rally in Istanbul

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

Journalist Abdurrahman Dilipak speaks to the crowd. AA Photo

A group of supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi gathered in Istanbul’s Fatih district on July 1, chanting slogans and holding banners.

The group, including representatives of Humanitarian Relief Foundation (İHH) and Free Thought and Education Rights Association (Özgür-Der), organized themselves through social media around the tagline “respecting civilian will” and demonstrated at Saraçhane Park in Fatih. 

Protesters held banners reading, “We will not let you turn our springs into winters” and “The Brotherhood knows no boundaries.” 

Özgür-Der representative Kenan Alpay blamed “powers wishing to turn Egypt into a puppet for the U.S. and Israel” for the recent protests in Tahrir calling for the resignation of Morsi. 

“The liberals, socialists, nationalists and leftovers of [Hosni] Mubarak, who don’t even constitute 1 percent of Egypt, are trying to enslave the Egyptian people with the support of international news agencies and money coming from sources like Saudi Arabia,” Alpay told Anadolu news agency. 

Alpay also called on Morsi to “resist” – a popular term embraced by the Gezi movement as the park and the protesters were called to resist government pressure. 

Journalist Abdurrahman Dilipak said the protests in Tahrir were “a unified attack on the world of Islam.”
“The recent events in Egypt and in Turkey are important events that unite us against foreign attacks,” Dilipak told Anadolu. 

Heated protests have erupted in Egypt over the past few days with the military threatening to take back the reigns, calling on Morsi to give in to popular will. 

Tamarod, Arabic for rebellion, is a grassroots campaign that claims to have collected more than 22 million signatures declaring a lack of confidence in Morsi. It was behind protests on June 30 that saw millions of people take to the streets demanding his departure on the first anniversary of his inauguration as president.