A Muslim Brotherhood-backed television channel was lunched in Istanbul. Rabaa TV, named after the Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in which more than a 1,000 pro-ousted president Mohammed Morsi protesters were killed after police crackdown last August. The channel's logo is the four-finger Rabaa sign that is now a symbol associated with Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi supporters. The channel's launch, on December 22, comes weeks after the Egyptian government expelled the Turkish ambassador in Cairo and declared him persona non grata, in retaliation against Turkish government's "interference in Egypt's internal affairs". The ties between the two countries have been deteriorating since the ouster of Egypt's first democratically elected president. He was removed by the powerful army but following mass protests against Morsi's one year in power. Morsi was one of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's close allies in the post-Arab Spring Middle East. After the military managed to remove Morsi back in July, Erdogan did not waste any opportunity to lash out against the military and the newly appointed government in Egypt. He was one of the very few leaders who called the ouster of Morsi a "military coup". As its first guest, the channel hosted the prominent Egyptian Islamic scholar Yusuf Al Qaradawi, who has been a stanch critic of the ouster of Morsi and of the current army-appointed government in Egypt. During the interview, Al Qaradawi called on supporters of ousted Morsi "to continue struggle against the military coup in Egypt". Following the overthrow of Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood- affiliated TV channels were shutdown by the new government for "inciting violence". According to Egyptian press, sponsors of the Rabaa TV channel attempted to launch from Beirut, however the Lebanese authorities refused to grant them a license. Ironically, the Turkish government is facing mounting criticism over its freedom of press record at home. Turkey ranked as top journalist jailer in the world for the second year in a row outdoing Iran and China, with 41 jailed journalists according to rights groups. Thus, Turkey's government harboring of a channel sponsored and run by the Muslim Brotherhood, a recently declared terrorist organization in Egypt, is seen as political stance rather than a principled one. "Most governments in Middle East tolerate journalists who are covering other countries far more than they tolerate local reporting," Matt Duffy, professor of journalism and international media law at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, USA, told Islamist Gate. "Because it makes them look like a tolerant society while actually creating a restrictive press environment at home," said Duffy and added that in the Middle East "appearances are often more important than reality." Following the launch of the channel and the surprising designation of the Muslim Brotherhood group as a terrorist organization, many seem to question the future of the damaged relations between Ankara and Cairo. Ankara is believed to be attempting to mend fences with old allies such as Israel and Iran after tensions over Syria in the case of Iran and the Gaza flotilla Mavi Marmara incase of Israel. An outbreak in ties with both countries seems in the horizon following the American mediation between Turkey and Israel back in April when Israeli prime minister offered an official apology to Erdogan over the death of Turkish citizens on the Gaza flotilla. Observers are rushing to call Turkey and Iran "allies" following the election of the moderate Hassan Rouhani. Turkish and Iranian officials have been intensively exchanging visits and phone calls since Rouhani took office in mid July. However, this doesn't seem to be the case with Egypt. "Egypt is conducting its relations with Turkey in a systematic way. Egypt is not a country that acts according to its emotions," Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bader Abdul-Ati said at a press conference at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Jan 1. He added that sending ambassador back to Ankara was not on the agenda.
