VIYAN AMED

Qamishlo- 15 days have passed since two deadly earthquakes that took place in Maraş and affected the cities in Turkey, Kurdistan and Syria. The earthquakes have killed and injured thousands of people. In an interview with NuJINHA, Nesrîn Loqo, coordinating member of Kongra Star, commented on the policies of the Turkish and Syrian governments.

‘The policies of the Turkish state revealed after the earthquakes’

Nesrîn Loqo first expressed her condolences to the families, who lost their loved ones in the earthquakes. Underlining that tens of thousands of people lost their lives due to the earthquakes centered in Maraş on February 6, she said, “The earthquakes have killed and injured tens of thousands of people and thousands of people are still in the rubble. The results of the Turkish and Syrian governments’ policies have been seen in this period. Earthquakes are natural disasters; however, the destruction left by the earthquakes that hit Turkey is not natural. The corrupt policies of the Turkish state caused this destruction and the killings of tens of thousands of people. Many areas of Northern Kurdistan and Turkey face earthquake risk; however, the Turkish state allowed the construction of buildings on the earthquake fault lines. The latest earthquakes have killed tens of thousands of people due to the policies of the Turkish state. Although the Turkish state knows the fault lines, it allows the construction of buildings close to the fault lines. It builds water dams near fault lines, cuts down trees, and uses chemical weapons.”

‘Turkish and Syrian governments left the people to die’

 Adding that the Turkish state and the Syrian regime prevent humanitarian aid sent for earthquake victims, Nesrîn Loqo said, “Despite such deadly earthquakes, the Turkish state still acts according to its own interests. If the Turkish state had used all the means, so many people would not have lost their lives. People struggled for their lives in rubble for days. For instance, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria collected humanitarian aid for earthquake victims; however, the Turkish and Syrian governments prevented aid convoys from entering the region affected by the earthquakes. These attitudes reveal the dirty face of sovereign states. The Turkish and Syrian governments left the people to die.”

‘Taxes must be used for people’

Underlining that the earthquake tax aimed at the prevention of earthquake-related damage has not been used for earthquake survivors, Nesrîn Loqo said, “The situation of the earthquake survivors in Northern Kurdistan is very bad now. Although 15 days have passed since the earthquakes, the people have been struggling to survive in freezing temperatures. Some of them are injured, some of them are hungry and some of them do not have any place to take shelter; however, the Turkish state does not even care about them. In addition, the pro-government press outlets do not report how the situation of the earthquake survivors is. They show how the government is mobilizing for the earthquake survivors; however, the Turkish government does not do anything. The Turkish state left the people to die. Such a major earthquake was expected; scientists warned the state about the possible major earthquake for years. For years, the Turkish state has taken money from the people in the name of earthquake tax in order to prevent earthquake-related damage. However, it used the taxes to kill people. The taxes must be used for people, not for war. The Turkish government declared a state of emergency after the earthquakes to hide its shame.”

‘People can stand against dirty politics if they unite’

Calling on people to unite, Nesrîn Loqo concluded her speech as follows: “After the earthquakes in Northern Kurdistan, the Kurdish people in all four parts of Kurdistan and many countries show their solidarity with the earthquake victims. These earthquakes show us how people can unite and be in solidarity with each other. Civilians took people out of rubble and helped the earthquake victims with their own means. We, as Kongra Star, call on Kurdish, Arab and Turkish people to unite so that they can stand against the Turkish state’s dirty politics.