As the number of dead in the Turkey-Syria earthquake crosses 15,000, anger and frustration are mounting in Turkey over the delayed initial response to the massive disaster. There are also allegations that the country and its government were inadequately prepared to handle such a crisis.
Though he defended his government, saying it was impossible to prepare for the scale of the disaster, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday admitted there were problems with the initial response to a devastating earthquake.
The President, while visiting several earthquake disaster zones, promised to take "every necessary step" and unite the state and nation so that "we will not leave any citizen unattended." He also snapped back at criticism, including from Opposition party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu who said, "If there is one person responsible for this, it is Erdogan."
"In a period like this, I cannot stomach people conducting negative campaigns for political interest," he told reporters in Hatay. Presidential polls will be held in Turkey in May and Erdogan is set to seek re-election.
"No doubt our job was not easy. The difficulty of weather conditions added to the magnitude and prevalence of the destruction caused by this earthquake, which was felt in an area of 500 kilometres in which approximately 13.5 million people live. Despite this, we mobilized all the resources of the state and the nation and directed them to the disaster area," Erdogan added.
Acknowledging "shortcomings", the President said the conditions were obvious. "It is not possible to be prepared for such a disaster. We will not leave any of our citizens uncared for," he added.
Twitter restricted
Amid the growing anger among local people, reports have said that Twitter has been restricted in Turkey. According to Network monitoring firm NetBlocks, traffic filtering had been applied at the internet service provider level thereby stopping Twitter users from reaching the social media site, reported CNN.
Twitter Chief Executive Elon Musk later tweet that the company had been informed by the Turkish government that full access to the social media platform in the country will be re-enabled "shortly". Musk did not provide additional details.
Days after the quake, rescue operations are continuing in the disaster-hit regions. However, many in Turkey bemoan the lack of resources or help. "We survived the earthquake, but we will die here due to hunger or cold," a 64-year-old man was quoted by Reuters.
Many are alleging that the state lacks enough equipment and expertise to carry out rescue operations. "Where is the state? Where have they been for two days? We are begging them. Let us do it, we can get them out," Sabiha Alinak, a resident, told Reuters. Alinak was seen wailing for help near a snow-covered collapsed building in the city of Malatya where her young relatives were trapped.
Rescue hit in Syria
As per reports from Syrian state media, over 298,000 people have been made homeless and 180 shelters for the displaced had been opened. However, these figures only pertain to areas under government control, and not held by opposition factions.
"Even the buildings that haven't collapsed were severely damaged. There are now more people under the rubble than those above it," a resident named Hassan from the rebel-held Syrian town of Jindayris told AFP.
"There are around 400-500 people trapped under each collapsed building, with only 10 people trying to pull them out. And there is no machinery," he added.
However, the UN officials informed that the delivery of U.N. humanitarian aid via Turkey to millions of people in northwest Syria could resume on Thursday after the long-running operation was halted by the quake.
