The opposition leader points out that Turkey has a lot of experience with earthquakes, but that this knowledge has remained untapped. Erdogan’s governments have taken a political rather than a practical stance in preparing for such a disaster. Numerous NGOs, local authorities or even the military were not involved or got involved too late, the opposition leader said, according to Turkish media.
Turkey correspondent Joost Lagendijk finds the criticisms special. ‘On the one hand, it is rather inappropriate to start doing the political profit and loss account now. But at the same time, this is reality. The discussion has already begun in the international and national press. Even though it has been ignored by state media and the government until now.”
‘Aidless Areas’
However, Lagendijk notes that “criticism is there”. ‘Particularly outside the big cities, large areas have been deprived of aid. People really wonder how so many houses collapsed. While after 1999, when the last major earthquake occurred, a lot of money would have been invested in the construction of anti-seismic houses”.