Cairo: Egyptians have turned to the internet to vent their anger at Turkey over its support for Qatar in a simmering Gulf row.
A non-governmental group launched an online campaign urging Egyptians to boycott Turkish products after Ankara endorsed a plan to send troops to Qatar.
The drive took the shape of a trending hashtag titled # I won’t _Buy_ the Turkish# set up by the self-styled group, Egypt’s Women Coalition.
“We won’t pay a single pound that ends up into the pocket of the terrorist, who kills our children or undermines our economy,” the group said in a statement.
“We appeal to the Egyptian state to take all necessary deterrent measures against everything that is Turkish and we support it.”
Turkey is a staunch backer of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
Relations between Egypt and Turkey have deteriorated since the army’s 2013 overthrow of Islamist president Mohammad Mursi following enormous street protests against his rule.
Hours after the hashtag was launched, it went viral online.
“You have no place among us, you Erdogan, your policy and products that are stained with the blood of our children,” an Egyptian woman called Sherin Helal, tweeted, referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“If governments are unable to decide on stopping import of Turkish goods, we, the people, will take it on their behalf,” she added.
Last week, Erdogan ratified a law proposed by his ruling party and passed by the parliament allowing the deployment of Turkish troops in Qatar.
Erdogan also criticised sanctions imposed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt on Qatar over its support for terrorist groups.
Naguib Sawiris |
Egyptian business tycoon Naguib Sawiris voiced backing for the anti-Turkey campaign.
“After Turkey’s dispatch of armed forces to Qatar, Turkish products must be denied entry to all Arab countries that reject Qatar terrorism. Let Erdogan bear the consequence of his arrogance,” Sawiris said in a tweet.
Ahmad Adel, an Egyptian entrepreneur, said he had already halted links with Turkey.
“In my company, I’ve stopped all business with them. My message to businesspeople is to shift their links to Greece which is a very promising market,” Hassan said in a tweet post, without specifying his business field.
In November 2013, Egypt downgraded diplomatic ties with Turkey to the level of charges d’affaires in protest against Ankara’s repeated criticism of Mursi’s toppling.
Egyptian-Turkish trade was worth 3.5 billion dollars (Dh12.85 billion) in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, according to official statistics. The figure included 412-milion-dollar imports from Turkey.
