Egypt’s most powerful Islamist group warned Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday that his country should not seek to dominate the Middle East despite his enthusiastic welcome at the start of a regional tour.
After his widely praised call for democracy in the Arab world, Erdogan was given a more reserved reception by officials of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose old guard do not share the admiration of the group’s younger generation for the Turkish leader.
“We welcome Turkey and we welcome Erdogan as a prominent leader, but we do not think that he or his country alone should be leading the region or drawing up its future,” said Essam el-Erian, deputy leader of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party.
The Brotherhood’s cautious comments contrast with the rapturous reception Erdogan has had so far, including cheering and flag-waving crowds, on the first stop of a tour of three Arab states that is aimed at bolstering Turkey’s regional role.
“Democracy and freedom is as basic a right as bread and water for you, my brothers,” Erdogan told an enthusiastic audience in Cairo on Tuesday.
Erdogan’s party, with its Islamist roots and election success, has become a model for much of the Brotherhood and other political groups as they prepare for the first free vote since the end of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule in February.
However, the Brotherhood and other groups are wary of outside involvement in a home-grown uprising. A senior Turkish official said Turkey did not want to dictate, but to offer help.
“Arab states do not need outside projects ... This has to come from the new internal systems of the Arab countries which after the revolutions ... will be democratic ones,” said Erian, who was jailed under Mubarak.
However, Erian praised Erdogan’s political success at home in free elections and his achievement in building a strong economy and supporting Arab causes.
“He has successfully invested in the Arab and Muslim world’s central case, which is the Palestinian case,” he said.
Erian said Erdogan had met members of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party.
A senior Turkish Foreign Ministry official said Erdogan had offered help if requested: “We are not saying we will come and teach you what to do, we are saying we can help if you want.”
Erdogan has won plaudits from many Arabs for his tough line in a feud with Israel. He is also respected for overseeing rapid economic expansion and for his democratic credentials in a region where democracy has been almost completely lacking.
On Tuesday, Erdogan urged the US not to block a plan by Palestinians to seek recognition for a statehood at the UN.
“The freedom message spreading from Tahrir Square [in Cairo] has become a light of hope for all the oppressed through Tripoli, Damascus and Sana’a,” Erdogan said, receiving several standing ovations.
Speaking at a Turkish-Egyptian business forum later on Wednesday, Erdogan urged Turkish and Egyptian businessmen to invest in each other’s countries.
Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said they sought to boost annual trade between the two states to US$5 billion from US$3 billion, as well as to increase Turkish investment in Egypt to US$5 billion from US$1.5 billion in the future.
Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said Turkey and Egypt had signed deals totaling US$853 million.
Erdogan told his Egyptian hosts that democracy and growth go hand in hand.
“If Egypt can embrace democracy, then those voices heard in Tahrir Square will also have its reflections in the field of the economy, as well,” he said.
TUNISIA
Erdogan yesterday fired his visit to post-revolution Tunisia with the kind of trademark warning to Israel that has earned him hero status on his “Arab Spring tour.”
“Israel will no longer be able to do what it wants in the Mediterranean and you’ll be seeing Turkish warships in this sea,” Erdogan said after a meeting with his Tunisian counterpart, Beji Caid Essebsi.
He reiterated his insistence on an Israeli apology for last year’s raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that left nine pro-Palestinian activists dead.
“Relations with Israel cannot normalize if Israel does not apologize over the flotilla raid, compensate the martyrs’ families and lift the blockade of Gaza,” he said.
Erdogan arrived late on Wednesday at Tunis international airport, where he was welcomed by Essebsi and about 4,000 people waving Turkish and Palestinian flags.
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