Official
reaction Thursday from governments around the world to clashes between
Egyptian security forces and supporters of ousted President Mohammed
Morsi, in which hundreds of people were killed and thousands injured:
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UNITED STATES
President Barack Obama canceled joint U.S.-Egypt military exercises,
saying America's traditional cooperation with Egypt "cannot continue as
usual" while violence and instability deepen in the strategically
important nation. Obama said his administration would look at possible
further steps, but he gave no indication the U.S. planned to cut off its
$1.3 billion in annual military aid to Egypt. "America cannot determine
the future of Egypt," Obama said in his first statement since violence
erupted Wednesday. "That's a task for the Egyptian people."
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EUROPEAN UNION
Senior EU diplomats will meet Monday in Brussels to discuss the
situation in Egypt and possible EU action, said Eamonn Prendergast, a
spokesman for the bloc's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton. He said
the diplomats will decide whether to convene an emergency meeting of
the bloc's foreign ministers on Egypt. The EU is a major source of aid,
loans and business for Egypt, including European sun-seekers vacationing
in the Red Sea resorts.
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SUDAN
The government of neighboring Sudan denounced the violence, and its
foreign ministry appealed to Egypt's government and political parties to
negotiate a solution that will spare Egyptian lives and avoid further
violence.
The Sudanese Muslim Scholars Board, an institution close to the
Muslim Brotherhood movement, issued a statement calling the violence "a
battle between right and wrong, between faith and deception, between
bare chests and criminal bullets."
It called the crackdown a "Zionist-Christian plots" and said Islam is
now "faced with a war that does not want to see Islam prevail or lead,
even if it comes through the ballot boxes." It urged Egyptians to
"reject this injustice and to halt the horrible human slaughter."
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IRAN
Iran's new president is calling on the Egyptian army to stop
"suppressing" the Egyptian people. "I warn Egypt's military that
Egyptians are a great and freedom-seeking nation. Do not suppress them,"
President Hasan Rouhani in a speech in parliament broadcast live on
Iranian state TV. He condemned what he said was army "brutality."
___
RUSSIA
Russia's Foreign Ministry has urged its citizens to refrain from
traveling to Egypt. The Russian Tourism Board had estimated that up to
60,000 Russian travelers were now in Egypt. Russian tourists have been
advised to avoid big cities and rallies but diplomats have not urged
Russians to stay away from the country altogether.
___
TURKEY
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the West of
ignoring violence in Egypt and called on the U.N. Security Council to
meet urgently to discuss the situation. Erdogan also said Egypt's
leaders should stand trial "in a fair and transparent way" for what he
termed a "massacre."
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FRANCE
French President Francois Hollande summoned Egypt's ambassador and
said "everything must be done to avoid civil war." In a statement issued
after the meeting, Hollande also said he "condemned in the strongest
way possible the bloody violence in Egypt and demanded the immediate end
to the repression."
"The liberation of prisoners, while respecting the ongoing judicial
procedures, could constitute a first step toward renewing negotiations,"
Hollande added.
___
BRAZIL
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry "condemns the brutality of the
repression in Egypt" and "calls for dialogue and conciliation." It says
the crackdown on the protesters is a "serious degradation of the
security situation in a key country for the stability in the region."
___
GERMANY
Germany's Foreign Office summoned the Egyptian ambassador. Foreign
Minister Guido Westerwelle, speaking from Tunis, said the ambassador was
told "that the bloodshed must come to an end now." Germany also
"strongly discouraged" its citizens from traveling to Egypt, especially
Cairo, the Nile Delta and the Nile River tourist areas of Luxor and
Aswan. The beach resorts of Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheik were not
affected.
___
ITALY
Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino summoned Egypt's ambassador
Thursday to denounce the violence, saying the police response was
"brutal, disproportionate and unjustified." In a statement, the Foreign
Ministry called for a speedy end to the state of emergency and to
"repression and indiscriminate political arrests." Italy also urged
Egyptian security forces to behave with "maximum self-control." Egypt's
Red Sea resort towns are very popular with Italians, many of whom own
vacation homes there. The ministry has advised Italians against travel
in Egypt, with the exception of these resorts.
___
TUNISIA
The president of Tunisia's governing moderate Islamist party,
Ennahda, said Wednesday's violence was "a disaster resulting from
overturning the legal & constitutional order." In an emailed
statement, Rachid Ghannouchi added: "Our message to our brothers and
sisters in Egypt: you will defeat dictatorship and your peaceful
struggle will defeat blood and bullets."
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ARGENTINA
Argentina, which holds the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security
Council this month, condemned "the brutal repression against popular
protests that won the streets of the main cities of Egypt." It urged
authorities to "totally and immediately cease the spiral of violence
loosed in recent days against unarmed citizens."
___
NORWAY
Norway said it had frozen export licenses for military equipment to Egypt.
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BAHRAIN
Bahrain said the crackdown was necessary "restore security, stability
and public order." The official Bahrain News Agency also said that
Bahraini authorities urged dialogue and reconciliation.
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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
The United Arab reaffirmed its support for the crackdown. "What is
regretful is that political extremist groups have insisted on the
rhetoric of violence, incitement, disruption of public interests and
undermining of the Egyptian economy, which has led to the regretful
events today," it said in a statement Thursday in English. The UAE
provided $3 billion of the $12 billion total financial aid promised by
wealthy Arab Gulf nations to Egypt following Morsi's overthrow.
___
DENMARK
The Danish government halted aid to Egypt worth 30 million kroner ($5.3 million).
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PAKISTAN
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged restraint on all sides and
called for the Egyptian government to release political prisoners. "The
government of Pakistan expresses its dismay and deep concern over the
use of force by the Egyptian security forces against unarmed civilians,"
the statement said.
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AFGHANISTAN
The Afghan government condemned the "killing of civilian protesters"
and expressed hope that "our brothers and sisters in Egypt to find a
peaceful political solution soon."
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SWEDEN
Sweden-based Electrolux told its 6,700 employees in Egypt to stay at
home for a second day. Electrolux spokesman Daniel Frykholm said the
company would reassess the situation on Sunday.
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SPAIN
Spain's government said it is calling the Egyptian ambassador in for
talks on Friday to express its regret at the violent crackdown and also
to convey its condemnation of the "attacks on public buildings and
churches."
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VATICAN
Pope Francis urged prayers for "peace, dialogue and reconciliation for that dear land."
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