At a time when the dead from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria have exceeded 24,000 and the rescue crews are making superhuman efforts to locate survivors, Turks are speaking about the contractors responsible for the construction of buildings that collapsed like “paper towers”.
In fact, there are many citizens who have already appealed to judiciary because of the collapse of at least 65,000 buildings.
In addition, many journalists “shout” and openly attack both Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the contractors who built the apartments. The latest example is the well-known presenter of the pro-government channel “Show TV” who, after unleashing insults against everyone responsible, resigned.
Dilara Gönder, visibly angry about the permits given for the construction of the buildings, burst out while and began to say that the disaster was not the fault of fate and the earthquake but those who built the apartments, those who issued permits, and those who approved the construction companies.
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Gönder’s eruption came as its guest geologist-engineer Ziyadin Çakir said it would be good to know some things about the earthquake that left thousands dead, injured and stranded.
Then the presenter started yelling at him and asking him if the 1999 earthquake – which also left behind thousands of dead – was not a lesson for Turkey.
“Look how people were buried. Who is to blame for this, fate, nature? No. I say it again, the engineers, the construction companies and the one who gave the approval are responsible,” she said.
A few hours later Dilara Gönder announced via Twitter that she was resigning. “It’s hard to write, I give up! I want to thank all my partners and Ciner Media Group for the opportunity it has offered me so far,” she said.
Yazması zormuş, istifa ettim. Tüm çalışma arkadaşlarıma ve bugüne kadar bana bu fırsatı veren Ciner Medya Grubu'na teşekkür ederim.
— Dilara Gönder (@dilaragonder) February 9, 2023
Turkey’s government had not made adequate preparations for Monday’s devastating earthquake despite warnings from experts, an opposition party in the country has said.
The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) vice chair Hisyar Ozsoy said people are “very angry” at the state institutions because they are “so ineffective”.
He accused the government of being ill-prepared for the disaster and said rescue missions were late and “couldn’t manage the whole process”.
“Yes it is true that this is a very, very big earthquake, it’s a very vast area that is true,” he told BBC Newshour.
“But despite warnings of scientists and geologists who were saying that an earthquake is going to happen, we saw that actually there has been almost no preparation.”
More than 24,000 people are now known to have died in the disaster, including 20,665 in Turkey and 3,553 in Syria, according to figures from the AFP news agency.
Millions are thought to be homeless in the region and rescuers are increasingly focusing on those requiring food and shelter.
The UN’s humanitarian chief said only two aid convoys had reached rebel-held areas in Syria, and he called for an immediate ceasefire to allow help to reach everyone.
Switzerland and Brazil have called for the UN Security Council to meet early next week to discuss the situation in Syria.
They plan to hear from UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths, who will visit Turkey and Syria in the coming days.
Brazil’s UN ambassador Ronaldo Costa Filho said Griffiths will conduct an evaluation of the situation, “where the bottlenecks for the delivery of aid exist, and in how best members the country can address that”.
Switzerland’s Pascale Baeriswyl urged “all parties to facilitate access for relief efforts and allow for the assistance to reach all those in need”.
Both countries lead negotiations and draft resolutions on Syrian humanitarian affairs in the council.
READ MORE: Turkey Earthquake: Two Greeks tragically found dead in Antioch after long search.
