Turkish defense minister, 'Foreign media is not sensitive to Egyptian people'

Turkish Minister of National Defense Ismet Yilmaz said on Monday that "The foreign media is not as sensitive to the Egyptian people and incidents in Egypt as they are towards whales in the pole and sea birds. They even may not regard the people of this geography as humans. But the history will put them to shame." Holding talks in Turkish northern province of Gumushane, Minister Yilmaz commented to Anadolu Agency (AA) in an exclusive interview on the recent incidents in Egypt following the military coup, attitude of the foreign media towards the incidents as well as the efforts of AA in the region. He stated that the Western communities are only democrats for themselves when it comes to the incidents in Egypt. "They want democracy for themselves, however only when the people they choose come to power. If people with opposing views win the elections, they regard democracy as a luxury for the geography. That is what happened in Egypt and Palestine," he noted. Yilmaz argued that the incidents in Egypt and Palestine have nothing to do with democracy although the elections were held in a democratic atmosphere. "They now want to play the same scenario on Tunisia. We say that the people of this geography deserves and is worthy of a democratic election. However, the West had a mandate there in the past. The mandate regime had a mentality of 'These countries are not capable of ruling themselves, we must rule them.' The 100 year-old mentality prevails: they still desire a mandate regime as they do not recognize the democratically elected people with opposing views," he said.

Stressing that Turkey does not follow a self interest-based foreign policy but a principle-based one, Yilmaz noted that "We think that it's the most natural right of the Egyptian people to be ruled by the person they choose. The history judges all, both the supporters of the military coup and those who side with the Egyptian people."

Yilmaz suggested that the foreign media does not fully cover the incidents in Egypt, saying "It is not enough to call it a double standard, their attitude is more than that. Almost hundreds of people die in Syria every day. Have you ever heard a news from the foreign media as Bashar Assad continues to kill his own people with missiles? Do they ever publish any news of the thousands of Egyptian people killed recently?"

"Have you ever seen a live broadcast on CNN or BBC from the anti-coup protests of millions in Egypt, ongoing despite pressure and deaths? They probably give it as an ordinary incident. The foreign media is not as sensitive to the Egyptian people and incidents in Egypt as they are towards whales in the pole and sea birds. They even may not regard the people of this geography as humans. But the history will put them to shame," he added.

"We are proud to have Anadolu Agency, servicing the truth 24-hour directly to the people, publishing news without falsification or hiding the truth," Yilmaz thanked AA for voicing the incidents in Egypt to the world.