Foreign media reported on the 8th (local time) that Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is fueling anger by remarks such as “we cannot respond to such a catastrophe” amid growing dissatisfaction with the government’s response to the earthquake in Turkey. did.
According to CNN and BBC, President Erdogan visited Hatay Province, which was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the southern border of Turkey and northern Syria, and said, “The government is taking all necessary measures,” and “no citizen is neglected.” I will not,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Erdogan acknowledged public concerns about the government’s response, saying there were “some problems” at airports and roads. He merely insisted that “the current situation is under control”.
He also claimed that “some dishonest people have falsely slandered the government’s response,” and said, “This is a time for unity, and at a time like this, we cannot condone malicious negative campaigning simply for political gain.”
President Erdogan protested that bad weather had aggravated the difficulty of responding to the earthquake.
“Without a doubt, our job was not easy,” he said. Nevertheless, they mobilized all the resources of the national and local governments and directed them to the disaster area,” he said. “Of course, there are shortcomings, but the situation is clear. It is impossible to prepare for a disaster like this.”
“We will not take care of or leave any citizen alone,” he said.
The comments came amid growing dissatisfaction with the government’s response in Turkey.
At the beginning of the earthquake, it was pointed out that President Erdogan called only the head of the local government of the ruling party and promised to respond, and neglected the head of the local government of the opposition party. There are also testimonies that rescuers arrived in some areas after more than half a day. Suspicion of misappropriation of the earthquake tax introduced in 1999 is also rising as analysis has emerged that buildings without earthquake-resistant design have increased damage.
In the midst of this, there is also news that the Turkiye government has blocked access to Twitter and has arrested and detained users who posted criticisms of the government on social media.
According to CNN, network monitoring company Netblocks reported that access to Twitter was blocked in Turkiye. This is consistent with users’ claims that they cannot access Twitter.
“There are widespread reports that Twitter is being restricted in Turkey,” said Zynep Tupekchi, a social media expert from Turkiye and a professor at the University of Columbia. I did,” he said.
In addition, Turkish police arrested or detained 23 people who posted comments criticizing the government’s response on social media for promoting “fear and panic.” The police said, “We captured 202 users who posted provocative posts about the earthquake,” and “detained 18 people and arrested 5 people.”
So far, 12,000 people have died in the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.