Erdogan slams Europe for stance on violence in Egypt

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a supporter of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, has slammed the European Union and other parties because they did not condemn the killing of dozens of Morsi supporters clearly enough. Erdogan accused the EU of double standards for questioning the use of tear gas by the police in Turkey but not the shooting and killing of protesters in Cairo.

“Those who were silent when Egypt’s national will was massacred [by the coup] are silent again when people are massacred,” he told a group of businessmen in Istanbul. “What happened to the EU [and] European values, where are those who go around giving lessons in democracy?” he asked. “Where is the UN? Where are those who created a brouhaha when Turkish police, in a completely justified and legitimate way, used water [cannon] and pepper spray now that there is a coup and a massacre in Egypt?”

Erdogan’s remarks were made before US Secretary of State John Kerry urged the Egyptian authorities to respect the right of peaceful protest in the country.