Aanger is rising all around turkey way to president Recep Tayyip ErdoganThe U.S. government has handled the response to a devastating series of earthquakes and aftershocks that have killed more than 16,000 people in the country and left tens of thousands homeless.
Rescue workers and residents in both Turkey and Syria – where thousands have died – are still searching for survivors of the quake, which affected heavily populated areas of both countries. But political recriminations have already begun, with presidential and parliamentary elections set – at least for now – on May 14.
More than 13 million, or 15 percent, of Turkey’s 85 million people in 10 provinces have been affected by the disaster, with Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) facing accusations. Earthquake Survivors know that the official response has been slow and uneven, particularly in areas politically loyal to opposition parties. “Where is this state?” Karar newspaper blasted a headline.
“The government hasn’t prepared for earthquakes for 20 years,” Kemal Kilikdaroglu, leader of the opposition People’s Republican Party, said in a video. “If there is one person to blame for this, it is Erdogan.”
Erdogan has been accused of briefing municipal officials of the AKP, but has been dodging representatives of Kurdish and centre-left opposition parties, which control many local governments in the stricken region. The president has taken to the airwaves to complain about politically motivated “fake news” related to the earthquake.
“We are keeping a close watch on those who intend to pit our people against each other with fake news and distortions,” he said earlier this week. “This is not the day to argue with them. But we will open the notebook we have now when that day comes.”
His government also ordered telecommunications providers to block access to Twitter over fears it could be used to spread unspecified “misinformation” before consulting with company officials and restoring access on Thursday . The disruption of a platform being used to communicate distress calls and offers of aid drew an angry response, including from political opponents.
“What kind of evil is this?” opposition leader Meral Aksener said in response to the Twitter outage. “Afraid of whom and why? Shame on you!”
Erdogan may have good reason to worry. The then Turkish government’s failed response to the 1999 earthquake in the country’s northwest – which killed more than 17,000 people – helped bring him and the AKP to power. The May elections were already set to be the toughest Erdogan has faced during his two decades in power.
rescue workers are searching for survivors
(Reuters)
Erdogan has deployed around 9,000 troops to aid in relief efforts. He has also declared a three-month state of emergency in the afflicted provinces, giving his government special powers that could allow him to clamp down on political activity in ethnic Kurdish areas hostile to him.
The Kurdish-led People’s Democratic Party (HDP) said in a statement, “The government is trying to protect itself instead of intervening and organizing aid.” “What needs to be done is not a declaration of a state of emergency, but a social coalition.”
The response to the earthquake has tarnished Erdogan’s image as a problem-solver. Over the years, he has flourished in crises, often appearing on the scene to oversee relief efforts.
“Before, you would see him as one of the first people at the scenes of devastation,” said Hetav Rojan, a Copenhagen-based scholar and security expert focused on Turkey. “He will be talking to frontline workers and talking to people at the local mosque. He was a social organizer. But the Erdogan we saw in the days before the earthquake was not the Erdogan of the past. He was avoidant and defensive.
Public anger has increased. Even the tightly controlled broadcast media has cut off during live broadcasts as survivors have fumed indignantly about the government’s response. In Turkey’s Adıyaman, the transport minister, Adil Karaismailoglu, and the governor, Mahmut Kuhdar – both appointed by Erdogan – were forced to sit in their vehicles and leave a trip after angry citizens began kicking their vehicles Was.
Volunteers deliver water, heaters, blankets and hygiene products to the people of Turkey
(Getty Images)
Erdogan has acknowledged shortcomings in the government’s response, but said such disturbances were inevitable. Government supporters noted that the United States has also failed to respond to natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The epicenter of the earthquake.
He urged Turks to come together and avoid political discrimination while providing aid in disaster areas. Outside of Erdogan, it is clear that the disaster has brought people in Turkey and around the world together in an effort to get money, volunteers and supplies to survivors huddled in the cold winter weather.
But Erdogan’s critics say he is the one who is playing politics with the aid. A major problem cited by Turks is that Turkey’s relief efforts and contributions from abroad and the rest of the country are centralized through the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (Afd), a state organization that is Erdogan’s brainchild. Is. Critics say that the very structure of Afd is aimed at consolidating the government while preventing both international organizations and local municipalities from quickly providing aid. The government has rejected such suggestions.
Kilikdaroglu, a potential challenger to Erdogan in the upcoming elections, said, “Whenever he causes ruin in this country, he calls on the people to ‘stand by me’.” “But there is no need for my solidarity with Erdogan and his palace.”
Kilicdaroglu said he asked officials to distribute the supplies without coordinating with central officials, whom he accused of being mostly interested in improving Erdogan’s political prospects. He urged the municipal officials to do so even if it meant getting arrested for violating protocol.
People warm themselves by burning bonfires amid the rubble
(EPA)
“We will move the necessary aid as quickly as possible to the places where it is most needed,” he said.
The earthquake stirs up other problems for Erdogan. The country was already suffering from a severe economic crisis, which critics describe as Erdogan’s erratic rule and insistence on keeping interest rates low, fueling an inflationary spiral that increased the cost of living. and reduced the value of savings. The earthquake damage will cost Turkey billions, undermining the country’s 2023 growth forecasts.
Turkey’s low interest rates were partly meant to shore up Erdogan’s political base to accelerate housing and development to curry favor with developers. But urban planners, architects and seismologists have long warned about the potential dangers of the construction projects, with Turkey sitting on one of the world’s most unstable fault lines.
Erdogan’s justice minister, Bekir Bozdag, has vowed to prosecute builders and contractors whose shoddy work has contributed to the rising number of deaths. But Erdogan and AKP’s relationship with the developers are already starting to come under scrutiny.
But perhaps the greatest political impact of the earthquake may be on Turkey’s national identity. Or at least as Erdogan has packaged for his supporters in the second half of his two-decade reign. In the past few years, he has increasingly doubled down on hardline Turkish nationalism. He has argued that the bridges, mosques, airports and apartment towers that have risen under his rule are the envy of the world, and especially the European Union and the West.
In recent months, it has flexed Turkish muscle by repeatedly threatening historic rival Greece with military action and refusing to allow Sweden and (to a much lesser extent) Finland to join NATO.
But after the earthquake, Erdogan found himself in need of help from those he stood against. Israel, a frequent target of Erdogan and his supporters, dispatched a 150-man search and rescue team to the stricken city of Adana. Greek rescue workers also immediately arrived at the scene, helping to pull survivors from the wreckage. Even Armenia, which has strained relations and no formal diplomatic ties with Ankara, sent dozens of rescuers. The same EU officials often disparage Erdogan as negotiators stormed Ankara on Thursday with overwhelming offers of help for Turkey.
“He has painted himself into a corner by being so adamant about Turkey’s strategic autonomy,” says Rohan. “Now he desperately needs outside help. have said over the years that Europe is jealous of our achievements, standards and industries.