London/Berlin - British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Thursday condemned the “military intervention” in Egypt, while Germany's Guido Westerwelle called it a “serious reversal for democracy.”
“I always condemn military intervention in a democratic system,” Hague told BBC radio. “We have to understand it's a popular intervention, there's no doubt about that in the current state of opinion in Egypt.”
“So while warning about the precedent that it sets for the future, of course we have to work with the Egyptians, with the majority will in Egypt, and that's what we will do,” he continued.
The German foreign minister described the intervention as “a serious reversal for democracy in Egypt.”
Westerwelle said: “There is a serious danger that the democratic transition in Egypt has been badly damaged. That could have repercussions far beyond the country, for the entire region.”
“No group in society may be excluded. Violence must be ruled out ... as must politically motivated persecution and arbitrary arrests. The achievements of the Egyptian revolution, in particular the freedom of the press and assembly, must not be brought into question.”
There were mixed reactions from Egypt's Arab neighbours:
SYRIA: President Bashar al-Assad welcomed what he described as the fall of “political Islam,” saying in an interview with the pro-regime al-Thawra newspaper that those who use religion for political interests would fail.
Al-Assad, himself under pressure to step down, said Morsi's year in power had revealed “the lies told by the Brotherhood in the beginning of the popular revolution in Egypt.”
“The experiment of the Muslim Brotherhood's rule failed even before it started because this kind of rule is not consistent with the nature of the people.”
SAUDI ARABIA: King Abdullah was the first Arab leader to congratulate interim president Adli Mansour. “I appeal to Allah to help you to shoulder the responsibility to achieve the hopes of the brotherly people of the Arab Republic of Egypt,” he said.
The king praised the armed forces, “who managed to save Egypt at this critical moment from a dark tunnel ... to preserve the rights of all parties in the political process.”
UAE: Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said his country “has full confidence that the great people of Egypt will be able to overcome the current difficult moments that the country is experiencing.”
MOROCCO: The Foreign Ministry said Egyptians had the right to “fulfil legitimate aspirations in the framework of the principles of freedom and democracy.”
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: President Mahmoud Abbas said: “We do not intervene in the affairs of Arab countries and we do not take sides on the situation in Egypt.”
Late Wednesday, US President Barack Obama said he was “deeply concerned” about the military action, calling on the army “to move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government.”
Egypt's military rulers should “avoid any arbitrary arrest of President Morsi and his supporters,” he said.
The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said “confrontation cannot be a solution.”
“The only solution to the present impasse can only be political on the basis of a substantial and inclusive dialogue as wished by the Egyptian people, and founded on democratic principles and respect for fundamental rights,” she said. - Sapa-dpa