The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has issued reported that it hosted a delegation of the Turkish ruling party where it expressed its unequivocal support for the actions of the Turkish government with respect to the recent coup attempt. According to the report:
August 4, 2016 On 2nd August 2016 the Muslim Council of Britain hosted a delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Parliament at its office in London. The delegation from Ankara consisted of five MPs; Mr Talip Küçükcan (MP for Adana, AKP), Mr Azmi Ekinci (MP for Istanbul, AKP), Mr Osman A?k?n Bak (MP for Rize, AKP), Mr Mevlüt Dudu (MP for Hatay, CHP) and Mr Mehmet Günal (MP for Antalya, MHP).
The delegation travelled to London this week in the aftermath of the attempted coup to meet a range of political and civil organisations, media representatives and British parliamentarians to inform the British public about the events of the night of the coup attempt on 15th July, and also to brief about the current situation in Turkey.
In his welcome speech, Harun Rashid Khan, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said, ‘Muslims throughout the UK watched in shock as the tragic events on 15th July unfolded, and prayed for the situation to be stabilised swiftly. We look at Turkey as a role model for a successful democracy in the Muslim World and were heartened to see the reaction of the Turkish nation who courageously took to the streets in unity to defend democracy, law and order.’
Talip Küçükcan (MP for Adana, AKP) explained that ‘the coup attempt on 15th July 2016 was an existential threat to the Turkish nation. All political parties condemned the coup and a joint declaration was adopted by the Parliament to voice their support for the elected government. The Turkish nation was united in defending its democratic rights, with even the pro-democracy camp including ordinary citizens from different political, ethnic and religious backgrounds. We were very disappointed to see that the media and political leaders even in NATO member countries were slow to respond in rejecting the coup and stand with the Turkish people in defending democracy.’
The roundtable, which was attended by senior representatives of Muslim organisations in the UK, offered the opportunity for attendees to express their views and to put forward questions to the delegation.
Following concerns raised about human rights abuses following the coup, the delegation reassured attendees that all the currently suspended state personnel, detained or arrested citizens, will go through the standard judiciary process, as it is in the government’s and cross party interests to uphold the democratic principles. Turkey has a Commission to protect people’s rights and is part of the Council of Europe.”
Human rights organizations have been reporting on various and widespread civil rights abuses by the Turkish government following the coup attempt.
The GMBDW has frequently reported on the close ties of Turkish President Erdogan and the Turkish government to the Global Muslim Brotherhood. This reporting is largely based on a report by the GMBDW Editor, centered largely the June 2010 Gaza flotilla.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is a UK umbrella group that has been dominated by the Jaamat-I-Islami and usually acts in concert with the Global Muslim Brotherhood.