Guardian of democracy and Protector of freedoms: Egypt slams Erdogan's 'double standards'

Egypt condemned what it described as “irresponsible” statements made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the Egyptian government.


Earlier on Thursday, Erdogan said during an interview with Qatari channel Al-Jazeera that he accused “the Egyptian regime of providing support to the Gulen movement”, which is led by Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who has been accused of masterminding the failed coup attempt in Turkey last July.

“We differentiate between the Egyptian people and the administration there. We love the nation like it was ours and that’s why we have provided all support to them but we are against coup governments and the violation of freedoms, and we will stand with the Egyptian people in their fight for democracy,” the Turkish president said during the interview aired on Thursday.

In an official statement on Thursday, the Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman said Egypt considered the Turkish statements as a “continuation to the blundering and double standards approach that the Turkish policies have been characterised  by through out the past years.”

The foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid expressed his “surprise” at the Turkish president inaugurating himself as a “guardian of democracy and protector of freedoms at a time when his government is arresting hundreds of professors and media personnel and tens of parliamentary members, as well as shutting down tens of newspapers and eliminating thousands of civil workers and army officers and judges from their jobs over their role in the coup attempt.”
 [ahram.org.eg]
11/11/16