Meanwhile, prime contractors in Turkey have been arrested for delivering faulty new construction. “More than a hundred have been charged, twenty to twenty-five have already been arrested.” Lagendijk rightly says they are being held accountable, but adds that they are just one link in a chain of municipalities and the inspectorate “which hasn’t paid much attention”.
Building amnesty
According to Lagendijk, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan is also to blame. “In recent years he has repeatedly announced a so-called building amnesty. People had built a house or had one built, and not according to the rules. They received approval after paying a small amount. Hundreds of thousands of houses have been built in this way with state consent, many of which have collapsed.
Particularly damaging to Erdogan is a 2019 viral video showing him touring the region and applauding himself for granting the amnesty. Lagendijk does not know if this will hurt the prime minister in the next election. Not even if those elections go ahead.
Elections
‘Whether the election will be held in June is a question mark. Millions of Turks are not at home and cannot vote, the question is whether this will be the case in a few months. And suppose they continue, it remains to be seen whether this will backfire against Erdogan. The opposition is very angry, Erdogan and his government are doing their best to show they can do it. The question is whether this will have a positive or negative effect, but he’s having a tough time, partly because of the movies.’
There are also many criticisms of the slow start of aid. Particularly outside the cities, there are areas where there has been no help for days and where people have had to pull the victims out of the rubble by hand.