Turkish president urges self-criticism for Western world

The Western world should self-criticize over democracy, rights and freedoms, the Turkish leader said on Saturday in the wake of the recent Capitol riots in the US.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that those who cannot stand even the implication of terrorism had tried to prevent Turkey from fighting against terrorists.

"We have seen the examples of them a couple of months ago in France. We also witnessed similar reactions over recent events in the US. All these developments make the Western world subject to a sincere self-criticism of democracy, rights and freedoms.

"All these developments make it necessary for the Western world to criticize itself in terms of democracy, rights and freedoms. If this self-criticism is not made and the understanding of justifying itself despite wrongdoings as we saw in the past, it means that the world has come to a new crossroad," Erdoğan said.

His remarks came when he addressed the launching ceremony of a new bridge in the country's southeast via video link.

On Wednesday, supporters of US President Donald Trump protesting Congress' certification of Joe Biden's presidential win clashed with police, eventually breaching the Capitol building and making their way to the Senate floor.

At least five people died after the mob breached the building, including one woman shot by Capitol Police.

The grim scenes are an unprecedented stain on the US' peaceful transfer of power.

Erdoğan said many recent events in Europe and the US revealed once again the double standards adopted against Turkey.

He also said that Turkey has been following the measures implemented by countries that have been accusing Ankara of being unable to operate democracy and restricting rights and freedoms, in the first threat they have faced.

The president stated that those who oppose Turkey's efforts to place social media channels where human rights and freedoms are violated the most in the country on a legal basis have started to perform "the most primitive examples of censorship."

He also said that the same countries are making disproportionately harsh interventions to suppress the actions of marginal groups which disturb the peace of the society and mean an open attack against the state and the law.

There will be more need for new common values based on fairness, equity and sustainability that will embrace the whole of humanity and go beyond the distinctions such as origin, color, belief and culture, Erdoğan emphasized.

He said that they hope that the global political and economic order, for which restructuring has become inevitable with the COVID-19 pandemic, will be shaped within this framework, and added that Turkey is in an effort to both advocate the idea and implement it in the region and around the world.