Ankara’s Hasty Steps to Appease Egypt… Will It Crush the Brotherhood in Turkey?
In its quest to repair its regional relations, Turkey’s steps to appease Egypt are accelerating, but the Brotherhood’s organization may be crushed by this rapprochement.
The scene does not look like Ankara’s previous decision to suspend Muslim Brotherhood programs two months ago, according to observers. This time, it came after clear warnings from Cairo about the seriousness of measures taken in the face of the Muslim Brotherhood media attack on Egypt.
An Egyptian diplomat told Al-Ain News that Cairo’s position is clear and categorical towards dialog with Ankara, and there are announced, not hidden, matters that will shape the relationship between the two countries in the coming period, in reference to the Brotherhood and Libya files.
The diplomat, who declined to be identified, added that his country proceeded with the political consultations after the positive signals issued by the Turkish side and any other step will be subject to the measures of correcting the course, that is, Turkey’s proceeding with specific measures related to what was announced by the Egyptian Foreign Minister in previous statements, which is to observe the rules of international law not to interfere in internal affairs and not to make the territories a stop and a springboard for hostile elements targeting the people of another country.”
Experts on extremist movements and Muslim Brotherhood defectors said in separate talks to Al-Ain News that Cairo’s position forced Ankara to take a serious stance towards the Brotherhood media system after a period of prevarication, whether on the issue of the Brotherhood or the issue of intervention in Libya, which Egypt rejected.
Over the past two days, the Muslim Brotherhood’s media horns have been falling in Turkey, beginning with Moataz Matar and then Mohamed Nasser, the most prominent announcer in support of the terrorist organization in Turkey, after they revealed that they had received instructions from Ankara to stop their programs on the El-Sharq and Mekameleen Brotherhood channels.
Fugitive Muslim Brotherhood broadcaster in Turkey, Mohamed Nasser, announced yesterday through his YouTube channel to stop broadcasting his program on social media, hours after the announcement of Muslim Brotherhood broadcaster Moataz Matar to stop broadcasting his program on all platforms, on orders from the Ankara authorities.
Sameh Eid, an expert on political Islam and terrorist groups, told Al-Ain Al-Akhbar that “the recent developments in the Muslim Brotherhood media, such as the instructions and orders for a complete halt, reflect, most importantly, Ankara’s submission to the Egyptian demands and a halt to evasions, after the conditions of Cairo became clear to everyone.”
Eid added : The Egyptian regime’s message to Ankara was clear, and its summary is that you (the government of Turkey) did not abide by the agreement and the relationship will return to what it was. Here, Turkey was forced to surrender and stop evading its interests in Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean.”
Eid said that the cessation of Muslim Brotherhood media platforms in Turkey revealed the size of the internal division in the organization, after Muslim Brotherhood members exposed leaders fleeing to Turkey with financial corruption and profiteering, pointing out at the same time that the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood has reached its final stop in Turkey.
He continued : Matar, Nasser and others have other alternative havens, like the United States and Canada, because they are living their last days in Turkey, and they are basically looking for material gains, so they will not be embarrassed to go to any other country as long as they broadcast their poisons based on the usual grievances and anti-Egyptian regime.
As for the future relationship between Cairo and Ankara, Eid believes that it will witness a breakthrough if Turkey continues to abide by Cairo’s conditions, which require more measures beyond the restriction of satellite channels to stop any hostile activity from its territory against Egypt.
Emad Abdel-Hafez, a researcher on Islamist groups, tells Al-Ain Al-Akhbar that the Brotherhood is in a crisis that is very different from all its previous crises; “A number of factors have contributed to the deepening and complexity of this crisis, including the internal division that split the group in half and left it extremely weak.”
He added : This crisis was further deepened by the unexpected closeness of the group between Turkey and Egypt, which no doubt surprised the group and caused its confusion, and now the actions taken by the Turkish government towards the Brotherhood media.
These measures will continue and there will be many controls to be imposed on the group, Abdel Hafez said, while ruling out Ankara’s handover of individuals wanted by the group to Egypt.
According to Eid, “the Egyptian-Turkish rapprochement makes the Brotherhood’s leaders seek another refuge in other countries in anticipation of developments that would harm them. This coincides with a state of distrust in the Turkish government towards the Brotherhood, which the Turkish government has come to see as a burden on the group due to its confusion and low level of performance as a political actor.”
He continued: Ankara has therefore preferred to abandon its support for the group in exchange for a rapprochement with the Egyptian state, which would be more beneficial for it. This would further aggravate the situation of the Brotherhood and make it much more difficult in Turkey in the future.
Amr Farouk, a researcher specializing in terrorist groups, tells Al-Ain Al-Akhbar that the Brotherhood in Turkey is facing an inevitable end. They no longer have room after the Egyptian-Turkish rapprochement, and they are fully aware that the scene has changed.
Farouk linked the end of the Muslim Brotherhood in Turkey with meetings revealed between leaders of the international organization and Iran, pointing out that it will be their last resort, in addition to Canada, after Cairo closed the safe corridors in Malaysia for the Brotherhood.
Farouk said that a number of Turkish Muslim Brotherhood members fled to Canada to seek political asylum in the last 6 months. He noted that there are Muslim Brotherhood elements that are beginning to control leadership positions in Canada.
Regarding Ankara’s seriousness in complying with Cairo’s demands, Farouk believes that Turkey can sacrifice the Muslim Brotherhood, but perhaps cling to its position on the Libyan scene, which could affect the Egyptian response.
“After a series of regional upheavals, Ankara’s relations with its neighbors, major Arab states and the European Union have deteriorated, and Turkey is seeking to ease pressure and patch up its foreign policy cracks that have become almost isolated.”
Turkey has begun attempts to reform its diplomacy by adopting a rhetoric that is offensive to Cairo, but the Egyptian government announced at the time that it was waiting for more than words.
Last May, Cairo received a high-level Turkish delegation on a tour that it said was exploratory and reiterated that it would settle for nothing less than actions to normalize relations with Turkey.
