Masses in Egypt could go out of control: Turkish President Gül

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

Anti-Mursi protesters chant slogans during a mass protest to support the army in Tahrir Square in Cairo. Both anti- and pro-Morsi protesters staged rival rallies in Cairo. REUTERS photo

Conflict between pro- and anti-Morsi groups in Egypt could spread out of control and give birth to chaos in the country, Turkish President Abdullah Gül has warned.

Asked July 26 in Istanbul how he evaluated reports saying ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi had been formally detained, Gül said, “I don’t know if this is true or not, but the important thing is that Egypt’s future should be saved and that the country shouldn’t be allowed to slide into chaos.”

Large masses of people cannot always be controlled, he said. “Uncontrollable, undesired big events might occur. Chaos and chaotic situations could emerge.”

Expressing his concerns, Gül said: “I would like to tell all Egyptian people, all politicians and leaders in Egypt, that everybody should protect their country and treat it as a mother treats her child. Egypt’s future should be saved. For Egypt to return to normal and reach democracy as soon as possible, it is important in this dark era that everybody cooperate with each other and engage in dialogue while compromising.”

The president said the release of Morsi would make the compromise process easier, but Egyptian authorities declared July 26 that the ousted president had been detained for 15 days.

“The release of President Morsi would for sure make cooperation much easier for Egypt’s future. That’s why I think it would to the Egyptian leadership’s advantage to construct a convenient atmosphere where they will unify everyone under a single roof and work in cooperation for a transition toward democracy,” Gül said.

Gül, meanwhile, refused to respond to questions concerning Syria and the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a group linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that recently dislodged jihadists in northern Syria.

Erdoğan says Egyptian army fears the ballot

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan again targeted the recent coup in Egypt as he gave a brief press interview on July 26, stating that coup came out of a fear of ballots.

Erdoğan mentioned the recent killings in the country “in the mosques” while again highlighting the military nature of the coup.

“Those who staged the coup want to have their supporters flood the streets. The greatest misfortune of Egypt has been corruption. Ballots would never let that happen. Why do they fear the ballot?” the prime minister said.

“Only those who fear the ballot will choose to stage a coup.”