Anniversary of the severe earthquake
Turks boo Erdogan in destroyed city
February 6, 2024, 6:33 a.m
When commemorating the devastating earthquake a year ago, survivors insulted the Turkish government as “murderers.” In their eyes, help came too late. They also feel abandoned when it comes to rebuilding.
Accompanied by loud criticism of the government, the devastating earthquakes in Turkey have celebrated their anniversary. In the center of the largely destroyed city of Antakya, thousands of people gathered in the morning for joint remembrance, booed the country’s government and sometimes described it as “murderers”. There were repeated chants calling for the resignation of the provincial mayor Lütfü Savas.
The government led by the Islamic-conservative AKP is accused of sending rescuers and help to the affected region in the southeast of the country too late and now only hesitantly pushing ahead with reconstruction in the province of Hatay and its capital Antakya. A participant in the rally said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government was ignoring the suffering of the people of Hatay. Savas, who belongs to the CHP, the country’s largest opposition party, is also accused of negligence.
The minute’s silence at 4:17 a.m. local time was punctuated by shouts of “Does anyone hear our voices?” interrupted. The rescuers also shouted this sentence when they searched for people buried in the rubble for days a year ago. Today he expresses that many people in the region feel left alone to deal with the consequences of the disaster. On the ruins of destroyed buildings, people lit candles in memory of those killed there and threw red carnations from a bridge into the Asi River, which flows through the city. Others posted signs demanding that those responsible in administration and politics be brought to justice.
The legal processing of the reasons for the tens of thousands of deaths caused by hundreds of thousands of collapsed buildings is repeatedly criticized. Predictions made before the disaster had expected around 15,000 victims in the event of such a scenario. According to the government, 53,000 died. The Turkish Medical Association assumes at least twice as many deaths.