Cyprus: The devastating earthquake in southern Turkey on February 6, with greater than 44,200 folks killed, tens of hundreds wounded, greater than 164,000 buildings destroyed and harm exceeding USD 80 billion, is unquestionably Turkey`s worst humanitarian catastrophe in fashionable historical past. It has additionally compelled President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to alter the main target of his election marketing campaign.
These elections could develop into essentially the most symbolic, dramatic, and vital in Turkey`s fashionable historical past, as they are going to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey, will resolve the course the nation will take within the coming many years, and also will decide if Erdogan`s 22-year domination of Turkey`s pollical life will come to an finish or not. The earthquake has overturned Erdogan`s earlier political election agenda.
Earlier than February 6, his goal was to include the rising discontent with the rampant inflation, the falling worth of the Turkish Lira, and the sharp will increase within the costs of foodstuffs and power, by giving wage and pension will increase, in addition to guarantees about early retirement. Now he’ll attempt to persuade the folks of Turkey that he’s the one one who can rebuild the destroyed homes and cities in a 12 months (and never in 5 years because the opposition events promise) and guarantee tolerable dwelling circumstances for the tens of hundreds who have been rendered homeless.
Talking to the inhabitants of the earthquake-stricken metropolis of Osmaniye, Erdogan stated: “You’ll permit us one 12 months. Inside one 12 months, god keen, we are going to construct these everlasting homes and settle our residents. (…) We goal to revive our villages inside a 12 months, identical to our metropolis facilities.”Undoubtedly, Erdogan realizes that it is going to be extraordinarily tough -if not impossible- to rebuild 270,000 housing items as he promised and take away the estimated 230 million tons of particles from the destroyed cities and villages, however he desires the folks to imagine that he’s the one politician who could make this occur.
He bets on the truth that the determined individuals who misplaced their properties and family members want to imagine that they are going to return to their regular lives very quickly and thus they are going to vote for him and never for the opposition events which say that this can be accomplished in an extended however extra sensible time-frame. Though the Turkish authorities desires to shift blame for the collapse of so many buildings to contractors for utilizing shoddy supplies and violating the constructing codes, movies on social media present President Erdogan bragging previously that “his amnesty coverage eliminated constructing standards-related complications for tons of of hundreds of residents”.
Final Wednesday, Inside Minister Suleyman Soylu stated that 564 individuals have been recognized in a felony probe into people chargeable for the collapse of buildings within the earthquake space. “100 sixty of them have been arrested, 18 are in police custody and 175 have been launched on bail,” he added. So, within the coming days, we are going to see Erdogan inaugurating prefabricated housing amenities and container cities to deal with these rendered homeless and holding ground-breaking ceremonies for the development of blocks of flats, in all probability to be awarded with out public tenders to contractors who’re supporters of his AKP Occasion.
Moreover, he’ll use the media he controls to make folks overlook the gradual and ineffective preliminary response of the state rescue companies and the Armed Forces to the earthquake.AKP is being held chargeable for the truth that the Catastrophe and Emergency Administration Presidency (AFAD) have been unprepared and disorganized to face the catastrophe and didn’t transfer rapidly sufficient to save lots of hundreds of people that had been alive many hours after the 2 main tremors.
Moreover, the Turkish Military, which within the earlier earthquake in Golcuk in August 1999 deployed some 65,000 males inside 48 hours to conduct search and rescue, evacuation and shelter operations and distribute meals and clothes to survivors, this time after an extended delay mobilized about solely 7500 troopers. Because the Turkish folks expressed their anger that the state failed to maneuver rapidly to save lots of the lives of individuals buried below the rubble and forestall them from dying from hypothermia, the federal government tried to cease “provocative media posts concerning the earthquake” by arresting dozens of residents for committing the crime of “spreading disinformation”, punishable with imprisonment as much as three years.
Thus far, 183 folks have been detained for committing the related “crime”, whereas felony proceedings have been instituted in opposition to one other 559 residents. The federal government in its try to dam the voice of these accusing it of incompetence within the face of the catastrophe initially blocked Twitter, however after some hours reversed its resolution when it realized that Twitter and different social media have been used to seek out survivors below the rubble.
President Erdogan has declared a State of Emergency in ten districts affected by the earthquake. This implies curtailment of the liberty of expression and meeting of 15 p.c of Turkey`s 85 million inhabitants. It’ll additionally permit him to regulate the election marketing campaign and even the poll field in the entire area. So, folks concern that Erdogan could also be tempted to develop the state of emergency in the entire nation.
Soner Cagaptay, of the Washington Institute for Close to East Coverage, factors out: “Along with the nationwide restrictions on liberty that his authorities had already instituted earlier than the catastrophe, a State of Emergency (SOE) would render the marketing campaign distinctly unfree and unfair in these ten provinces, giving him a bonus on the poll field.
In earlier weeks, polls have been displaying the “Desk of Six” opposition bloc working neck and neck with Erdogan`s alliance, so he could also be sorely tempted to tilt the stability with an SOE. And if unrest or protests get away nationally, he would possibly even develop the SOE to cowl your complete nation.”
