‘Turkey is the voice of the oppressed in the world,’ says PM Erdoğan

KASTAMONU - Anadolu Agency

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his wife Emine Erdoğan attend an iftar dinner at Kastamonu's stadium, in the central Black Sea region, July 19. AA photo

Brushing aside once again criticism of his hard stance towards Egypt, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Turkey was not meddling in any country’s internal affairs but rather was standing as the “voice of the oppressed.”

“We are the voice of our brothers, our friends, the oppressed; we are that voice opening up to the world,” Erdoğan told hundreds of supporters gathered at a fast-breaking dinner at Kastamonu, in the central Black Sea region, where he participated in the opening ceremony of a new airport. 

“When they tell us: ‘Is it left to you to take care of the oppressed of the world, tell what’s right and defend justice?’ We will remind them that our basic principle is: 'If your brother is in difficulty, you cannot be in security and stability.’ You cannot make your country prosperous by veiling your heart and your conscience,” Erdoğan said, adding that the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) policy was based on enhancing the “brotherhood” in the region. 

“We are a country that grows as it shares.”

‘Sue those who bang pots and pans’

Erdoğan slammed once again the Gezi protests, stressing that it was not a coincidence that the events took place during the month of May. He also called on his supporters to sue the neighbors who banged pots and pans in an attempt to protest the government.

“Pots and pans, these are a crime. Nobody has the right to disturb anybody else. If someone bangs pots and pans in his house; apply to the court. This has nothing to do with freedom, on the contrary this is interfering with somebody else’s freedom,” he said adding that the government constantly faced opposition when it tried to bring a solution to the terrorism issue. 

“We have faced obstacles, sabotage, provocations and attacks. We want brotherhood, but some do not,” he said.

Kastamonu’s new airport is the second airport that Erdoğan has opened in two weeks. He is set to visit the impoverished southeastern town of Şırnak next week to open another new airport in the province named after the iconic Kurdish politician Şerafettin Elçi.