Grillo slams 'silent West' over Egypt massacres
Beppe Grillo, leader of the Five Star Movement (M5S), has criticized Western leaders for their reaction to recent violence in Egypt and called for an international court to be set up to try those responsible. “Whoever ordered the massacre must be tried by an international organization like the one set up in Serbia...New elections should be announced as soon as possible,” Grillo said on his blog on Friday.
Grillo was most likely referring to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, set up by the UN to prosecute those responsible for war crimes during the 1990s.
The political leader was responding to a crackdown on protesters begun on Wednesday which has left at least 638 dead, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Health, while the number continued to rise on Friday.
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the army on July 3rd, following mass protest against his rule.
“Now is the time of the massacres, the murder by the army of hundreds (perhaps thousands) of civilians that want to reinstate democracy. But, once again, the West falls silent,” Grillo said.
He criticized the EU and the US for their weak reaction to the coup, which was swiftly followed by violence when more than 50 Morsi supporters were killed on July 8th.
“Morsi was supported by the Muslim Brotherhood, whose members were massacred in the streets and their bodies piled up in mosques,” he said.
The former Egyptian president was democratically elected in 2012, but Grillo said “for the West democracy is a relative concept”.
“It is applied on a case-by-case basis, when convenient. With the Egyptian military it did not apply,” Grillo said.
On Wednesday Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino responded to the violence by saying she was “deeply pained at what is going on in Egypt”.
“I appeal to all the Egyptian forces to do everything in their power to halt the violence that has erupted there, and to avoid a bloodbath,” she said in a statement.
Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta spoke to French President François Hollande about the situation in Egypt on Friday afternoon.
In a tweet (below), Letta said "I spoke on the phone with Hollande. An EU initiative to put an end to the repression and violence is necessary immediately".
#Egitto.Parlato al telefono con #Hollande.Necessaria subito una iniziativa #Ue per immediata cessazione di ogni repressione e violenza.
— Enrico Letta (@EnricoLetta) August 16, 2013
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“Whoever ordered the massacre must be tried by an international organization like the one set up in Serbia...New elections should be announced as soon as possible,” Grillo said on his blog on Friday.
Grillo was most likely referring to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, set up by the UN to prosecute those responsible for war crimes during the 1990s.
The political leader was responding to a crackdown on protesters begun on Wednesday which has left at least 638 dead, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Health, while the number continued to rise on Friday.
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the army on July 3rd, following mass protest against his rule.
“Now is the time of the massacres, the murder by the army of hundreds (perhaps thousands) of civilians that want to reinstate democracy. But, once again, the West falls silent,” Grillo said.
He criticized the EU and the US for their weak reaction to the coup, which was swiftly followed by violence when more than 50 Morsi supporters were killed on July 8th.
“Morsi was supported by the Muslim Brotherhood, whose members were massacred in the streets and their bodies piled up in mosques,” he said.
The former Egyptian president was democratically elected in 2012, but Grillo said “for the West democracy is a relative concept”.
“It is applied on a case-by-case basis, when convenient. With the Egyptian military it did not apply,” Grillo said.
On Wednesday Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino responded to the violence by saying she was “deeply pained at what is going on in Egypt”.
“I appeal to all the Egyptian forces to do everything in their power to halt the violence that has erupted there, and to avoid a bloodbath,” she said in a statement.
Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta spoke to French President François Hollande about the situation in Egypt on Friday afternoon.
In a tweet (below), Letta said "I spoke on the phone with Hollande. An EU initiative to put an end to the repression and violence is necessary immediately".
#Egitto.Parlato al telefono con #Hollande.Necessaria subito una iniziativa #Ue per immediata cessazione di ogni repressione e violenza.
— Enrico Letta (@EnricoLetta) August 16, 2013
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