Özgür Özel, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has been on a tour of southern Turkish provinces affected by the 2023 earthquakes for the past few days, ahead of the anniversary of the “disaster of the century,” which killed tens of thousands of people. The tour was an opportunity to hit out at the government for Özel, but he faced protests and found little audience in some places.
The CHP has criticized the government for not doing enough for victims of the earthquake, but the government, in turn, responds that the opposition conveniently ignores the fast rebuilding after a catastrophe of such proportions.
In Hatay, one of the worst-hit provinces, which was governed by a CHP municipality at the time of the earthquake, protesters lined up the street in the district of Reyhanlı, where Özel’s convoy was passing on Wednesday, carrying banners, “Where were you after the earthquake?,” denouncing lack of assistance from the municipality and the CHP itself in the aftermath of the disaster. They booed Özel and the CHP officials.
Özel later traveled to Adıyaman, another province affected by the disaster, where the local elections after the earthquake were won by the CHP. Yet, the usual crowd of CHP supporters was nowhere to be seen. Unlike rallies in support of former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, who is jailed on charges of corruption, Özel failed to attract supporters in Adıyaman, with only a handful of devout Republicans showing up.
The CHP chair’s first stopover in tour of earthquake-ridden areas was Osmaniye and was not without controversy. Anti-CHP newspapers uncovered that a family Özel visited in their “container home” and complained of poverty actually had three cars. Emine T. was caught on camera as she complained that they faced eviction from their “container home” and they were suffering because her husband was unemployed. Her conversation with Özel fed the CHP’s propaganda machine to blame the government for the state of earthquake survivors. Several newspapers, however, reported on Thursday that Emine T.’s husband was actually employed and they were handed over the current makeshift home they resided though they were not the rightful owners due to their status as tenants. Moreover, media reports said the family moved from the container home and was staying in a proper residence, and was there specifically for Özel’s visit. The family was not eligible for any welfare program, as authorities pointed out that they had income above the limit to be eligible for such programs.
