Turkish Deputy PM Bozdağ rebukes Kerry for Egypt remarks

ANKARA

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ has rebuffed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s remarks on Egypt in which he said the military did not take over but instead was “restoring democracy.” DHA photo

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ has rebuffed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s remarks on Egypt in which he said the military did not take over but instead was “restoring democracy.”

“Kerry said the Egyptian army is restoring democracy and the government is civil. Can you believe or laugh at this?” Bozdağ wrote on this Twitter account.

Kerry said millions of people asked the military to intervene because they were afraid the country would descend into violence. “And the military did not take over, to the best of our judgment, so far. To run the country, there’s a civilian government. In effect, they were restoring democracy,” he said.

“Did the army establish democracy in the U.S. and the EU too? Coup do not build democracy, on the contrary, they demolish [and] massacre [people]. Just like in Egypt,” the deputy prime minister replied.

The Barack Obama administration has refused to call the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi a coup, as such a designation would mean Washington would be forced to cut off $1.3 billion in annual military aid to Egypt.