Erdoğan concedes poor performance in "the first days" and asks for people's forgiveness in Adıyaman

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President of Justice and Development Party (AKP) and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Adıyaman today after the February 6 earthquakes where he said "With the destroying effect of the quakes, and with the cold weather, we were not able to carry out work as efficiently as we would like. I am therefore asking for your forgiveness," Erdoğan said.

He used the word "helallik" which roughly means asking for forgiveness from one, and which also makes reference to what is religiously permissible. 

Erdoğan also said that they were aware of all [problems] and doing the necessary. The president promised that they will not let down any of the 70 thousand persons in Adıyaman requesting a container or assistance for house rent. He also said that they will be supporting the farmers with feed assistance and replacing dead animals with new livestock.

Many from the opposition parties and MPs responded to Erdoğan immediately and told that "they were not giving their forgiveness to him".

People's Democratic Party shared a tweet where they said that they did not give their forgiveness to "those who used the taxes collected for earthquakes for other purposes, those pouring millions to construction lobbies, those who caused thousands of people to freeze to death, those who use AFAD and the Red Crescent as a benefice, who grant zoning amnesties.

"You cannot evade responsibility"

Türkiye Worker's Party (TİP) wrote "We will not give our forgiveness, we will settle scores." 

Helalleşmeyeceğiz, hesaplaşacağız! pic.twitter.com/MMOXdnxZmq

— Türkiye İşçi Partisi (@tipgenelmerkez) February 27, 2023

Ali Babacan, President of DEVA (Democracy and Progress) Party said, "Dear Erdoğan, you have to ask for forgiveness not from those who survived but from those who died because of your neglect. You cannot just ask for forgiveness and evade responsibility either,"

Babacan also wrote "How many people lost their lives for the delays in the first 48 hours?" in his tweet.

Sayın Erdoğan, helalliği kalanlardan değil ihmaliniz yüzünden vefat edenlerden istemeniz gerekiyor.

Sadece helallik isteyip sorumluluktan da kaçamazsınız.

İlk 48 saatteki gecikmeler nedeniyle kaç kişi hayatını kaybetti? https://t.co/RPOWSjgOSl

— Ali Babacan (@alibabacan) February 27, 2023

"We thought you were saying everything was under control"

Journalist Sedef Kabaş also responded to the President. She said, "We thought you were saying that you were able to go everywhere from the first day on. Everything was under control starting from the first day. We thought those who asked "Where is AFAD, where is the Red Crescent" were "wicked, mean, dishonest."

"Why are you now saying that you were not able to carry out efficient work and asking for forgiveness?"

E hani “Devlet ilk günden itibaren polisiyle, askeriyle, jandarmasıyla yerini almıştı.” Nooldu şimdi?#HelalEtmiyoruz https://t.co/SG46tKoNrM

Gazeteci Sedef Kabaş:

"Hani ilk günden itibaren her yere gidilmişti? Hani ilk günden itibaren her şey kontrol altındaydı? Hani 'AFAD nerede, Kızılay nerede' diyenler 'ahlaksız, namussuz, adi' idi?

"Şimdi neden 'ilk birkaç gün istediğimiz çalışmaları yapamadık. Helallik istiyorum' noktasına gelindi?"

— Feyza Akınerdem (@feyza_ae) February 27, 2023

"I am not giving my forgiveness"

An earthquake victim, Esra Özçelik wrote:

"My dear lost her life so young, waited under the debris with her baby for days. I heard that you asked for our forgiveness. I am not giving my forgiveness."

Benim canımın hayat kursağında kaldı, canlarıyla, minicik bebeğiyle günlerce enkazda bekledi. Helallik istemişsin #HelalEtmiyorum pic.twitter.com/2QqvhKzFoc

— esra özçelik (@zelikesra) February 27, 2023

On February 6, two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6 struck the southern city of Maraş. The first quake in the Pazarcık district at 4.17 a.m. was followed by the second one in Elbistan about nine hours later.

The quakes affected 11 cities in Türkiye's south and southeast, as well as Syria's northern parts.

The official death toll from the quakes stands at over 44,000 and is expected to increase further, as over 160,000 buildings were destroyed or severely damaged, according to government figures.

Nearly two million people have been displaced due to the earthquakes. (TY/PE)