KILIÇDAROĞLU: "THE STATE CAN NOT BE A TOOL FOR THE PERSONAL AMBITIONS"

CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu stated that different institutions in the state prepared more than 500 earthquake reports and warned, said, "They do not know how to manage the state, they do not know what the state is. The state does not consist of a palace. How can you manage the huge Republic of Turkey like this? A state cannot be a tool for one person's ambitions. A state cannot be managed through personal expectations," he said. Kılıçdaroğlu said, "It is a shame and a sin to this country; we do not deserve such management. Even though we know that we are in an earthquake zone, if we are expanding the cities in the earthquake zone, if we cannot take the necessary precautions, if politics tries to govern the state with a vicious understanding, such disasters will always come to our door. Therefore, we want the state and bureaucracy to be managed with a healthier and more consistent understanding."

CHP Leader Kılıçdaroğlu, who visited the earthquake zone, held his Central Executive Board (MYK) meeting in the Hatay EXPO area. Speaking before the meeting, which CHP Metropolitan Mayors also attended, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said:

"OUR GREATEST DESIRE IS TO COME TOGETHER IN SEARCH OF HOW WE CAN SAVE ONE MORE LIFE"

"We have gathered this table with the reality of a process we are not used to. Apart from our Central Executive Board (CEB) members, our metropolitan mayors are here again; our Hatay deputies are here, and our deputy friends who coordinate to solve the problems encountered in Hatay are here. This CEB is a challenging CEB for us. Its difficulty stems from the troubles and problems we face. As a political party, we try to overcome severe problems. Our deputy friends and mayors are doing their best. I want all my citizens to know this.

"WE ARRIVED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE"

Immediately after the earthquake, we came to Adana, then to Hatay, Osmaniye, Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Malatya, Islahiye and Nurdağı, Gaziantep, Pazarcık, Samandağ, Arsuz, İskenderun. We did not spend two evenings in a hotel; we spent one evening in Arsuz and the other in Şanlıurfa under the conditions in which earthquake victims live. Naturally, our pain is grave; we wish God's mercy to those who died, a speedy recovery to the wounded, and condolences to our nation. But, of course, it is our greatest desire to be united in the face of such pain, to be together, to struggle together, to leave aside past conflicts to solve problems, and to come together in search of how we can save one more life.

"WE NEVER USED AN OFFICIAL VEHICLE IN THIS PERIOD"

Whenever I had the opportunity in the provinces I visited, I also visited the mayors without any political distinction. We met with suffering citizens, and I patiently listened to their troubles. The problems that the people experiencing the difficulties told us, and the hardships they were experiencing were unbearable. But in the end, it was possible to see and observe all these sufferings. We never used an official vehicle during this process. I, my fellow mayors, and my fellow MPs completed all these trips with a single bus.

"THE WORD I PRONOUNCED THE MOST AFTER BECOMING THE CHAIRMAN WAS MERIT"

Relatives and relatives of our MP friends also lost their lives. I want to express my condolences to our fellow MPs, our district chairs who lost their lives, and our party members... I want to express my condolences to all our citizens who lost their lives, who were members of a political party and aspired to solve the country's problems, regardless of which party they belonged to.

Some things should be spoken openly and clearly. The word I pronounced the most after I became the Chairman was merit. For a person who worked 27 and a half years in the state and then entered politics, I said almost everywhere I went how significant merit is in the state and the state administration. Rising in the state is an everyday event. Coming to certain positions in the state is a regular event. First, you get experienced; instead, you gain knowledge and experience, see the obstacles, and gradually move up; each time you move up, a new colleague takes your place, and that colleague also moves up in the ranks. Therefore, you carry your experience with you every time you start working as a civil servant and move up the ranks. When you destroy merit in the state, rotting starts in the state. Because if a person you bring from the top also disperses the bureaucracy below, he cannot lock on to the country's problems and needs to know what the problems are. He cannot know which accumulations create which issues, and when he encounters a problem, he cannot know how to solve it.

"TODAY, THIS DISASTER HAS SHOWN US WHAT IT COSTS TO ROT IN THE STATE"

When I said there was decay in the state, some circles were angry and enraged. Today, this disaster has shown us what decay in the state costs. Lives that should have been saved could not have been saved. While measures should have been taken in time, we have seen that instructions were not given in time and instructions needed to be fulfilled. If the state does not operate, it cannot solve problems. The operation of the state means that the bureaucracy is locked in every difficulty. If the bureaucracy keeps silent in the face of a problem and can take action when instructions come from somewhere, the state is out of operation. Yes, our state is significant. Yes, our state is strong. But that strong state needs to operate. The bureaucracy needs to fulfil its requirements. There is no concept in state administration that I can only do business with instructions. Because in state administration, the duties of everyone from the slightest authority to the highest power are defined by law. Everyone fulfils the rules stipulated by law. But if you leave the state suffocating, if the state cannot stand up without instructions from somewhere, decay begins. This is one of the severe problems we are experiencing. When you leave the state out of operation, merit disappears, morality disappears, virtue disappears, and ethics disappears. All of these disappear.

"POLITICS IS A RACE TO SERVE THE PEOPLE IN ALL DEMOCRACIES OF THE WORLD"

Some said 'it is not right' to express these in this atmosphere. Some said, 'is now the time for politics'. I want to address all my citizens; politics determines the cost of the bread you eat. It is politics that determines the cost of the bus you ride. It is politics that determines the cost of the aeroplane you fly in. If politics determines everything from the water you drink to the bread you buy, if there is a problem, the people are experiencing this problem, and if the people come to me and ask 'who will voice my problem', I have to be their voice. Otherwise, why am I doing politics? On what grounds am I doing politics? Why are you doing politics if you will not voice the people's problem if you do not express their problem? Politics means serving the people. It is not hitting people's heads with a sledgehammer. If you serve the people, it means you are doing politics in the real sense. If you use all kinds of pressure and threats, that is not politics; that is a different kind of administration. Politics is a race to serve the people in all democracies of the world. This is the very reason for the existence of political parties.

"THERE CAN BE NO SUCH A STATE ADMINISTRATION"

Politics is also about being able to see the future, to interpret the future. We all know that Turkey is in an earthquake zone. The world knows it; scientists know it too. Especially in the last ten months, earthquake experts will be talking on almost all TV channels. You will see professors pleading, 'Take precautions'. What has been done? Plenty of building amnesties were issued. They buried people in their houses and also took money on top of that. Is this politics? Is such politics possible? Isn't it the subject of politics to make people's houses resistant to ensure that people can live comfortably in that house? The house is illegal; it is not earthquake-resistant, you say 'you can live in it'. Damn such state administration, there can be no such state administration.

Go and look at those whose houses collapsed in the earthquake. Columns were chopped off, and buildings collapsed. I have to ask, where are they? Did they listen to the voices of their conscience while issuing zoning amnesty? Would you still demolish that person's house for money besides the taxes they collect?

"THOSE DORMITORIES ARE NOT VERY SUITABLE FOR FAMILIES OF EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS. LOOK AT ANTALYA, IZMIR; EVERYWHERE THERE ARE FIVE-STAR HOTELS"

It was decided to close the KYK dormitories and make university education online. I swear that they do not know how to manage the state. What do you want from university students? What do you want from their dormitories? They were already away from education for a long time during the pandemic. Now they are closing the dormitories again with justification. They will open them for earthquake victims. Those dormitories are not very suitable for earthquake victims. Look at Antalya and Izmir; there are five-star hotels everywhere. If you are running the state, take the earthquake victims, host them in five-star hotels, and cover all their expenses. Hotel owners will cover all of these.

"A STATE CAN NOT BE A INSTRUMENT FOR THE PERSONAL AMBITIONS OF ONE PERSON"

They need to learn how to manage the state and know what the state is. The state does not consist of a palace. How can you manage the entire Republic of Turkey like this? A state cannot be a tool for one person's ambitions. A state cannot be governed based on individual expectations. We have always said, 'the state is governed by justice'. They need to learn how important education is, that education is vital for a country where an uneducated society is dragged to, but they supposedly govern the state; it is inconceivable.

"WE DON'T DESERVE SUCH GOVERNANCE'"

No one should forget that the state must be governed with justice, that they must be accountable to the society they govern and that the name of this is democracy. It is a shame and a sin for this country; we do not deserve such an administration. Even though we know that we are in an earthquake zone, if we are expanding the cities in the earthquake zone, if we cannot take the necessary precautions, if politics tries to govern the state with a vicious understanding, such disasters will always come to our doorstep. Therefore, we want the state and the state bureaucracy to be managed with a more consistent and reliable understanding.

"OVER 500 EARTHQUAKE REPORTS PUBLISHED"

The state bureaucracy has published at least 500 earthquake reports that I know of. Municipalities carried out these studies; ministries carried out these studies; universities carried out these studies; and professional organisations carried out these studies. Which precautions should be taken were written and drawn one by one. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey carried out these studies, and there are at least 7-8 earthquake reports in the Assembly. These people are illiterate. They don't even look at a report. If you do not see ten steps ahead, if you do not see twenty degrees ahead, you cannot govern the state.

"OUR MAYORS ARE MAKING EVERY EFFORT THEY CAN, DESPITE ALL THE OBSTACLES"

Our mayors are doing their best, despite all obstacles. My fellow mayors are trying to heal the wounds of the earthquake together. We have 142 municipalities. 4 thousand 577 vehicles have been sent to the earthquake regions, and 12 thousand 163 personnel are currently on duty in the earthquake regions. A total of 2 thousand 400 trucks, lorries, four planes, five ships, and two train wagons were sent to the earthquake zones. Thirty-four mobile kitchens with a daily capacity of 200 thousand meals, 14 catering vehicles with a capacity of 140 thousand, and nine mobile bakeries with a capacity of 95 thousand bread have been put into operation. In addition, 245 trucks of drinking water, 1 million 24 thousand blankets, 52 thousand 369 heating stoves, 4 thousand 726 tent containers, and 398 generators were sent to earthquake zones. Our municipalities will primarily focus on tent, heating and hygiene support. In each earthquake region, our deputy deputies are working under the chairmanship of a deputy chairman. These friends of ours have never left the earthquake regions. They were in contact with our Earthquake Coordination Centre in Ankara; they were in connection with our mayors. Whatever was needed was quickly announced, and our mayors fulfilled the need."