Earthquake in Turkey, the dissident journalist: “I’ll explain the real reason for these delays in relief efforts”

A totally inadequate answer to one of the worst natural disasters. After the earthquake in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is facing increasingly harsh criticism from survivors and opposition parties. What was the reason for the delay in the rescue operations, which the president himself has admitted?

We talked about it with Can Dündar, considered one of the most uncomfortable journalists of the new Ankara regime, author of a graphic novel that has recently been released in Italy by Nutrimenti, Erdoğan, the new sultan. Dündar, who has signed over 30 books, and who has been editor of the newspaper since 2015 Cumhuriyet, organ of the first opposition party in Turkey, lives in exile in Berlin, where he founded an information platform and web radio of which he is editor-in-chief. In December 2020, a Turkish court sentenced him to 27 years in prison, accusing him of terrorism and espionage.

Were you in Berlin during the earthquake?
“Yes, I was in Germany that night, and I’ve been in front of the TV ever since.”

What caused the delay in rescue operations?
“I think the first reason for the delay is the ‘Turkish-like presidential system’. Erdogan has concentrated all authority in himself. That’s why the bureaucracy, parliament, local governments, disaster management, army, police are paralyzed. They all waited for orders from Erdoğan’s palace to take action. And since the palace failed to provide the necessary direction and coordination for the first three days, tens of thousands of people died. Now we know very clearly: the cause of the deaths are not only the buildings that collapsed in the earthquake, but also the government that failed to rescue those who were trapped under those buildings.

After protests from the population, Twitter was blocked.
“The government, too slow to save lives, was too quick to arrest those who criticized it. By blocking social media, the only means of communication between those trapped under the rubble and their relatives, Erdoğan has caused even more deaths. Once again it has been seen that suppressing reactions is more important for the government than saving lives.

Many people killed by the earthquake lived in masonry structures: more solid constructions could have prevented the disaster. Would it have been possible to prepare?
“Illegal building has been tolerated for decades. Warnings from civil engineers, geologists and planners have been ignored. Those in charge of supervising these constructions have taken bribes and have not done their duty. Illegal construction was encouraged with amnesties given at 5-10 year intervals. The day of the earthquake was Turkey’s “Red Monday” (to quote Marquez’s words): “The murder that everyone knew was coming”, but there was no authority to intervene, the gravity of the situation and all the institutions mutually expected an intervention”.

After the 1999 earthquake (which killed more than 17,000 people), more than €4.3 billion should have been spent on prevention and the development of emergency services. Why didn’t this happen?
“Because they used the money raised as an earthquake tax to fix the budget deficit that they themselves caused.”

What does the population need most now?
“Initially it needed construction vehicles and rescue teams. Which have not arrived. On the second day, no tents, blankets, clothes, doctors arrived. On the third day, bread, soup and water did not arrive. On the fourth day, the medicines and portable toilets did not arrive. On the fifth day, not even the coffins arrived. Now the greatest needs are housing, work and financial aid.

Will the relief management change the opinion of the population? What will be the consequences on Turkish politics?
“Turkey is now at a crossroads: this authoritarian regime can transform into a full dictatorship to quell the backlash, or it can become a parliamentary democracy again through regime change. Erdoğan proved, in the refugee crisis and the Ukrainian crisis, that he is a master of turning every crisis into an opportunity. He will want to use this disaster as an opportunity to extend his time in power. He is already trying to postpone the elections which should be held in 3 months. Whether it is successful or not, it all depends on the resistance of the people and the opposition.”

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