TURKISH PRESIDENT DEMANDS MORSI RELEASE
Ankara, 11 Ramadhan 1434/18 July 2013 (MINA) – The President of Turkey, Abdullah Gul, has demanded the immediate release of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, as well as guarantees that he will not be harmed.
He expressed his sorrow over the coup against democratic legitimacy carried out by the Egyptian army.
According to Zaman newspaper, Gul held talks with the newly-appointed Egyptian Ambassador to Turkey, Abderahman Salah El-Din, at the end of last week, according to Middle East Monitor (MEMO) report monitored by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).
He called on the Egyptian authorities to release Morsi “immediately” and to avoid “harming” him.
President Gul stressed that all of Egypt is important for Turkey while regretting that the military had removed the elected president.
Other, democratic, ways should have been sought to tackle the political impasse in Egypt, said Gul. He called for a democratic solution to the political crisis that protects everyone’s rights and privileges.
Moreover, the newspaper pointed out that Gul proposed an eight-month plan to finalise the political transition to elected civilian rule according to which the interim government should establish a 50-member committee within 15 days, consisting of lawyers and representatives from universities, unions and civil society organisations.
The committee would be tasked with writing a new constitution in 30 days.
The president’s proposal urged the Egyptian government to establish an independent electoral commission and call parliamentary elections within three months, with a new presidential election following one month later.
Turkey’s Erdogan slams military coup in Egypt as ‘illegitimate’
Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has voiced strong opposition against a military coup in Egypt that ousted President Mohamed Morsi, denouncing the move as ‘illegitimate.’ Commenting on the recent happenings in Egypt on Thursday, Erdogan said Ankara regards every military coup as “illegitimate,” Turkey’s official news agency Anadolu reported.
“Every military coup, regardless of its target, country and reason, is the murderer of the democracy, people and the future of the country,” Erdogan said, adding that anti-government protests in Cairo’s Liberation Square did not legalize coup. Egypt plunged into violence after the country’s powerful military ousted Morsi, suspended the constitution, and dissolved the parliament on July 3. The military overthrow followed days of mass protests against Morsi.
The army declared chief justice of Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court, Adly Mansour, as interim president on July 4. The Turkish premier added, “If the squares are indicators, where will you place Rab’a Al-Adawiya Square?” referring to the square near the presidential palace in the Egyptian capital, where supporters of Morsi stage their gatherings.
On July 5, Erdogan condemned the removal of Morsi from office through a military intervention and criticized the West for failing to call the ouster a coup. Since last week, Egypt has been witnessing mass protests and deadly clashes involving supporters and opponents of Morsi and security forces. Many people have been killed over the past few days, with more than 80 deaths reported on July 8 alone.
On July 10, Egypt’s military-backed interim government stepped up its crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, ordering the arrest of its spiritual leader, Mohamed Badie and other senior figures. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern over the detention of political activists in Egypt, saying, “There is no place for retribution or for the exclusion of any major party or community in Egypt.” (T/P012/E1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
