With the death toll in Egypt reaching at least 525 in official numbers, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the Egyptian military as “massacring” its own people, and condemned it in the strongest terms possible.
“Not only democracy, but humanity has been targeted in Egypt. Democracy and the people received fatal hits,” he said on Aug. 15. “No one can ignore a military that is carrying out a massacre with its soldiers, police officers, heavy artillery, turning against its own people who gather at squares calling for justice; no one can claim that this must be left to be dealt with solely as their domestic affair.” He added: “We watched on television those who conducted a military coup openly massacring their own people, who only wanted to learn what happened to their votes. We can’t stand tall unless we say what we believe is right. We will continue to spell out what we believe in. One who keeps silent in the face of injustice is a voiceless demon.”
On that note, let’s take on Erdogan’s words. There are many people in Turkey in opposition to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) wondering why the prime minister does not show the same approach to his own people who took part in the Gezi Park protests. If Erdogan is really sincere about valuing democracy so much, and therefore respecting the freedom of speech, then he should have also defended the right of free assembly for the people at Taksim and elsewhere in the country.
“I told the police to clear the Ataturk Cultural Center in 24 hours. They are wondering who gave the order to the police. I did. Were we going to watch the occupying forces? Were we supposed to watch them so that the world feels happy about it? Gezi Park is now cleansed. It’s not the headquarters of illegal organizations,” he said. Erdogan never understood that the people were out on the streets as individuals, but he trusts that the Ihvan [Brethren] supporters in Egypt are out there to exercise their democratic rights. They have been occupying the Cairo squares since July 3, and what’s deemed their natural right was considered illegal activity for Turks opposing Erdogan’s policies, even on a simple issue like saving one of the last green spaces in Istanbul.
Therefore, those who fail to follow Erdogan’s mindset on this issue cast doubt about his commitment to democracy. These include people such as Levent Uzumcu, a well-known actor in Turkey whose tweet received a mention of his possible death from Samil Tayyar, an AKP deputy. “While you call the police massacring your people here [in Turkey] with tear gas canisters ‘heroes,’ you call them villains in Egypt. Ones who are slain here are terrorists, and martyrs in Egypt,” Uzumcu tweeted. AKP Gaziantep deputy Samil Tayyar was quick to respond with the following tweet: “Uzumcu compared Taksim to Egypt. If it were similar, we would be waving you off with cheers and wishing you rest in peace!”
Five people are dead, 11 lost their sight and more than 8,000 were injured by the Gezi Park protests. The Erdogan government is exceptionally sensitive to military coups, but there really is no one left in this country who invites the military to intervene in civilian life. Those days are long gone. But there are many people in the country who are growing fearful about the shadowy power centers. Many still wonder how Turkey’s democracy strengthened or benefited by calling Ilker Basbug, for example, a former military chief of staff, a leader of a terrorist organization, and putting him and nearly 400 of military personnel behind bars as convicted terrorists.
Many believe that the military coup era is over, but that there is now a different kind of a coup in place, taking away the oxygen needed to build a contemporary society while advancing human rights and individual freedoms and honoring the rule of law as a backbone of democracy.
It’s not that Erdogan is wrong in condemning the violence in Egypt, but it is a fact that he at least lost the upper hand of being a champion of democracy at home as a result of the Gezi Park protests. Therefore his strong rhetoric and condemnation of Egyptian military may mean less and less for people both inside and outside the country. And that can only be tragic for this region as Turkey allows a vacuum at this critical time when millions of lives and people’s futures are at stake. Nevertheless, Erdogan keeps on talking and condemning the loss of life in Egypt, while also doing his best to control and suppress his own population at home.
