JOINT STATEMENT BY THE NATION ALLIANCE ABOUT THE EARTHQUAKE DISASTER (6 February 2023)

We wish Allah’s mercy upon our citizens who lost their lives in the earthquake that hit Kahramanmaraş and many other provinces, including Gaziantep, Adana, Hatay, Malatya, Diyarbakır, Adıyaman, Osmaniye, Şanlıurfa, Elazığ and Kilis. We extend our condolences to their families and wish them patience. We extend our condolences to our nation. We wish a speedy recovery to all our injured citizens.

We are closely following the works carried out to immediately rescue all our citizens under the rubble in the disaster areas. We wish strength from Allah to all our staff taking part in the search and rescue efforts.

It is important that the central government works in strong cooperation and coordination with local governments without any discrimination in the face of such a disaster. We will overcome these difficult days through the coordinated and meticulous work to be carried out by all relevant state institutions, including AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency) and our municipalities and with the support and prayers of our nation. As 85 million united hearts, we will quickly heal all our wounds in solidarity and overcome this disaster in unity and solidarity.

We want to draw our citizens’ attention to following all AFAD warnings carefully, never entering damaged structures, communicating through short message service (SMS) and internet-based messaging software, avoiding any telephone calls except for vital cases, leaving roads empty for search and rescue teams and emergency aid vehicles, providing aid in coordination with relevant public institutions and local administrations, and complying with all these issues sensitively.

We are all united as Turkey.

Our prayers are with all our citizens in the earthquake zone.