Islamic body head says he warned Morsi in April

RIYADH

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The head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, said he had warned ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi over the country’s problems and offered him solutions in a meeting in April.

“I told him the situations of countries in the world that struggle against economic difficulties, such as Greece, Portugal, Italy, Brazil and Spain. We discussed various political solutions that they have been applied to overcome their problems. I emphasized especially the need to form a coalition with the opposition forces,” the OIC head told Turkish daily Milliyet in an interview.

“I said a coalition would relax the society, dispatch political risks and that the country would come through its problems. When the Mubarak regime was toppled in 2011, the people demanded freedom, honor and bread but the poverty increased and worries grew. I also reminded the president that economic policies should be applied urgently and foreign aid should be obtained,” İhsanoğlu said.

When asked if there was any result after the meeting, he said Morsi did not carry out reforms. “These [reforms] were not realized, and a picture which we did not seek arose.”

Elections as soon as possible

İhsanoğlu also warned that the conflict would not help anyone assume power, urging Egypt to hold democratic elections as soon as possible. “I believe that political actors in Egypt will have to abandon this confrontational policy because conflict won’t allow anyone to take power. Compromising and forming a large coalition is needed to take power. [Egypt] has to pass to a transition period as soon as possible. A Constitution should be written and everyone should find themselves in it. There can be no solution with approaches that dismiss one side,” İhsanoğlu said.

The OIC head called on Egyptian authorities to activate democratic processes immediately. “Egypt has entered a very dangerous process. All political parties should unify their efforts. They should compromise in order to protect Egypt’s main interests, security and prosperity,” he said.

On the possible suspension of its membership from the OIC, İhsanoğlu said the body did not have a plan like the African Union (AU) did after the coup. “The African Union has a summit decision that suspends the country’s membership when there is a coup d’état. The OIC doesn’t have such a mechanism. So we don’t have the matter on our agenda,” İhsanoğlu said.