Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. (Photo: DHA)
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lashed out at the United Nations and Muslim countries for not taking action to stop a deadly Israeli aerial campaign targeting Gaza, which he said has amounted to “systematic genocide.”
During a speech in front of Muslim scholars attending a meeting in İstanbul, the prime minister accused the UN of “serving a secret cause” and lambasted the Muslim world for not working to stop the killings in Gaza because what happens there has nothing to do with the Sunni-Shiite conflict.
“Muslim world, where are you? Is your heart not aching over what is happening? We keep asking why the West is silent. Leave the West aside! Will others be concerned if your own family [of Muslim nations] does not care?” he asked at the meeting organized by Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate.
Erdoğan also claimed that there are Muslim countries that are “pleased” with what is happening regarding the Palestinian issue, without elaborating or naming any such country.
“Since what is unfolding in Palestine is not a sectarian conflict, since it is not a Sunni-Shiite clash, unfortunately, this means it does not get the attention of the Islamic world,” he said.
At least 224 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the course of Israeli air strikes targeting Gaza, which began 10 days ago.
“This is not the first time we are witnessing this. Since 1948, we have been witnessing systematic attempts at genocide [in Palestinian territories], especially during [the holy month of] Ramadan,” he said.
Erdoğan, who earlier blamed the UN for the Palestinian casualties, this time said the world body was doing nothing to achieve its stated goal of maintaining peace. He accused it of serving a “secret cause,” which he did not disclose.
“What was the UN established for? For world peace. Is this what it is doing? Is it making any contribution to world peace? What is it good for? It is only serving their secret cause,” he said, without explaining whom he was referring to.
He also said the UN is not “built to serve peace” because there is no Muslim country sitting in the 15-nation UN Security Council.
Source: Todays Zaman
Leave a Reply