There is a clear attempt to start a bloody civil war in Egypt: Turkish EU minister

ISTANBUL

Senior members of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have condemned the bloody crackdown against the supporters of the toppled Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in Cairo Aug. 14, repeating their calls to the international community to raise their voices against the interim government that took power following the July 3 military takeover.

One of the most outspoken members of the Cabinet, EU Minister Egemen Bağış slammed the attitude of the international organizations in a series of tweets following the reports of deaths from Egypt.

"The United Nations, European Union, Organisation of Islamic Conference and others must WAKE UP!," Bağış wrote via Twitter in English. "There is a clear attempt to start a bloody civil war in Egypt. We can't keep quiet during this slaughter," he added. He used even harsher words in his tweets in Turkish, vowing that Ankara would not change its position one iota.

"What has happened in Egypt showed that those who were exporting democracy to the world are out of service, on leave from morality. What a shame. Unfortunately very sad," Bağış said.

AKP's spokesperson and deputy chair Hüseyin Çelik also urged the international community to act.

"The fact that international organs have only 'condemned' or 'recommended moderation to the parties' is an absolute ethical crisis," Çelik said on his Twitter account Aug. 14.

"A world that is silent against the opening of fire on people who took to the streets against a coup in the name of democracy is heading toward losing its ties with legitimacy, law and democracy. Those who remain silent while the people of Egypt are robbed of their democracy, built by open and transparent elections, now continue to watch as those who support democracy are being targeted," he added.

Çelik said "being worried" was not enough and the absence of action by international decision-making bodies was actually hurting their own legitimacy.

Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ joined Bağış and Çelik with a similar critique. "We call on the international community to take the side of democracy in the face of the crime against humanity in Egypt," he said.

Similarly, Culture and Tourism Minister Ömer Çelik criticized the absence of action by international institutions while calling it an “ethical crisis.” 

'Massacres don't matter if regime desirable'

However the harshest criticism on the approach adopted by international entities concerning Egypt came by AKP’s deputy chair responsible for external affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, 

“Actually one cannot expect anything else from a coup regime, but what upsets us mainly is that in the Arab and Western worlds, there is an understanding that as long as it is a regime they desire, whatever the cost is [it does not matter], and from the beginning, they have not called the coup a coup. Now they are overlooking the massacres,” Çavuşoğlu told Anadolu Aug. 14. 

“They are overlooking the massacres. Human rights, fundamental rights and freedoms: None of these things matter. As long as there is a regime in that country that they feel they are close to, that they desire, the rest is not important. How many people are massacred, how many killed, democracy being lost, even on issues they have always wanted to support, on issues that they try to give a lesson to others on, we see that the world is completely insensitive. For me, this is worrying for the United Nations and European institutions, institutions that have defined themselves as homes of democracy until today and the future of the world,” he added. 

Speaking pessimistically about the future of Egypt as long as the coup administration is in charge, Çavuşoğlu said, “Unfortunately they have launched a full-scale massacre. What is upsetting is that there is a coup administration in Egypt, and this regime is doing everything to protect its power.” 

‘Ikhwan sole actor with common sense’ 

Çavuşoğlu said the Muslim Brotherhood has been the sole actor behaving with common sense. “Ikhwan [the Brotherhood] is taking to the streets calling for the support of the people and democracy,” he said. “In other words, the only party that acts with reason for Egypt is the Ikhwan that some countries in the Western and Arab world do not like.”