Egypt has just expelled the Turkish ambassador, in a move that could set a frigid tone between the two countries for some time to come.
The expulsion came on the heels of a comment made by Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey, which was considered provocative by Egyptian authorities.
But the decision to expel the Ambassador came with other actions, which Egypt made to reasses its diplomatic ties with Turkey.
The second decision was to downgrade the diplomatic interaction between them as charge d'affaires, and third to not send the Egyptian Ambassador to Turkey.
The Turkish Prime Minister has become much more visible, and some say powerful in his attempt at reshaping his country and the surrounding states. Its interaction with Syria, Iraq and Egypt for one, place Turkey on a central stage.
What Egypt recriminates, at this point, is Erdogan's wish to 'interfere' so deeply with other countries' plans.
Some, even go so far as to say that Erdogan seems imbued with the legacy of the Ottoman empire, and would like to see at least some part of it restored to its old glory.
The comment made by Erdogan, however, had to do with the harsh crackdown of the supporters of deposed president Mohammed Morsi. The repression of the protest on August 14th made 627 victims and set the tone for things to come, at least as far as the Muslim Brotherhood is concerned.
But is Erdogan really in a position to speak about it? If the protest at Gezi park are an indication, he should be the last to talk about repression.
Erdogan however, has been vocal since the beginning, about the ouster of Morsi and the subsequent crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. And there is little surprise there: the Brotherhood has had very close ties to Erdogan's AK party since 2012, and many people in Turkey believe that Erdogan's aim in the future is to have a Sharia state in Turkey.
To make matters worse, Morsi has adopted the rebel sign of the Brotherhood, the four wide fingers of the hand, but insists that it is simply a salute. His reply to criticism was that he uses the four finger salute as a universal moniker for freedom, and not in support of the Brotherhood.
Op_Ed
Partial sources : france 24/ al Jazeera/ 11.23.13
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