While Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan argues that his objection to the Egyptian military ending President Mohammed Morsi's term is all about standing strong in the name of democracy and therefore against military coups, Egyptian Ambassador to Ankara Abderahman Salaheldin has raised a different issue. Salaheldin asked whether Erdogan's position on the issue is principled, comparing Egypt's two separate popular rallies since 2011, which both led to changes in governance.
“Let me remind you of what happened in January 2011. The military forced President [Hosni] Mubarak to step down and took over. The whole world, including Turkey, congratulated Egypt for its great revolution,” he said in a July 22 interview with Hurriyet.
“In 2013 ... yes, President [Mohammed] Morsi was elected by the majority, by 51%, no one denies that. In one year’s time though, President Morsi lost the support of those who voted for him.”
Ambassador Salaheldin continued, “I think it is very useful to remind Turks of these two events — January 2011 and July 2013. Turkey must not be seen as siding with the minority that happens to be the Brotherhood. ... Democracy is people's governance. How could a situation be more democratic than today’s situation? Thirty million people poured on to the streets to demand something.
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