By Hakkı Yükselen
The fallout from the two earthquakes that shook Türkiye and Syria last week shows that while the occurrence of natural disasters may be out of our control, the death count is a result of human response and preparedness. The catastrophic handling, both in terms of preparation and the immediate response, to the earthquakes place the exorbitant death toll squarely in the hands of the countries’ capitalist vultures. They have ransacked the public treasury for years, spending emergency response funds. The economic and political interests, goals, preferences and intentions of the rulers of the country have turned a natural phenomenon into a social catastrophe.
The current political regime functions by distributing “favors.” This is a polite way of saying that it takes public treasury funds and lines the pockets of its friends in return for political patronage. This policy has left in its wake a trail of disasters such as forest fires, floods, and pandemics. While the official narrative in Türkiye is one of “God’s plan” or “providence,” the reality is that the number of casualties in these disasters are astronomical in comparison to what they would otherwise be.
The 1999 Gulf Earthquake contributed to the collapse of the old regime. The 2023 Pazarcık-Elbistan earthquakes, which affected a much larger region in a much more severe way, will also end this regime. The representatives are aware of this reality and this is the reason for their increasing irritability, threats and aggression. This regime has completely lost its ability to govern and is truly bankrupt. They can continue to blame divine providence until they are blue in the face, but it is no longer possible to hide the fact that they are the ones primarily responsible for the catastrophe.
A rentier class that gives out construction contracts to loyal friends contributed to faulty constructions. Brand new buildings in the earthquake zone, which were supposedly built according to earthquake regulations, crumbled and collapsed. When we look at the destroyed roads, unusable airstrips and flattened hospitals in the same region it is clear that the justifications of those who claim “Yes, but they built double the number of roads, bridges, hospitals, airports” etc. have no validity. That the treasury-guaranteed public-works projects, paid for by the transfer of rents and resources and the collection of shares and commissions, suddenly turned into rubble reveals the nature of the regime.
The True Face of the State of Emergency
Apart from the electoral bribes, the price of which the working people continue to pay for, this bankrupt regime has no choice but to use force to survive. The declaration of a state of emergency (OHAL) in ten provinces in the disaster zone on far-fetched grounds, including “preventing looting,” justifies the use of force. This catastrophe will have inevitable economic, political and social consequences and a heavy price.
The declaration of a state of emergency despite adequate disaster laws and presidential powers is primarily related to the election process. The regime, which could not find the opportunity for a cross-border military operation it could use to impose new repression and bans before the elections, now will use the State of Emergency declared in the earthquake zone. The state of emergency will be used as an opportunity by the regime to impose further oppression of political opposition, and will extend beyond the places immediately impacted by the earthquake. It is inevitable that what happened in the disaster zone and the state’s failure at the most critical moments afterwards will affect social reactions and voter tendencies all over the country during the election process. Aware of this, the regime seeks to isolate the disaster zone – in reality, a crime scene full of its own fingerprints – to prevent any kind of protest, complaint, communication, and any kind of political and/or opposition activity to prevent its spread. In this way, the region can be turned into a completely controlled closed “security zone.” The fact that official and unofficial regime elements are increasingly trying to prevent, threaten and drive away people from the region, who have come from all over Türkiye to help the disaster victims and mobilized on their own initiative, gives an idea about the possible applications of the State of Emergency in the coming days.
The great catastrophe, accompanied by the question “Where is this state!”, has exposed the hollowness of the “strong state” claims of the arrogant rulers. Once again, we see how the power of this state is only enough to intimidate its own people and order cross-border military activities, like those carried out in recent years in northern Syria and Iraq. One of the most important lessons of this earthquake, just like the 1999 earthquake, is that it is the people who can come to the aid of the people and the laborers who can come to the aid of the laborers. This is the truth that the state, the regime and the supporters of the regime who shout slogans and insults are trying to cover up.
This is where the President’s leadership has led Türkiye. The problem is not new, but under this regime it has become much more severe and deadly.
The state of emergency has nothing to do with “healing the wounds” of the earthquake zone and “ensuring the security of the people.” The purpose is purely political and is about maintaining a decaying regime by force. Therefore, contrary to the claims of the regime that says “Now is not the time for politics” to instead push a narrative of “national unity and solidarity,” now is the time for politics, and revolutionary politics at that!
