Criticism of the Turkish government: “They have neglected us”

The forest fires in Turkey are still not under control and criticism of President Erdogan’s crisis management is growing louder. But anyone who expresses themselves publicly is putting themselves in danger.

Mehmet lives with his wife in a small village on the southwest coast of Turkey. It’s not one of those fancy seaside resorts like Bodrum. The houses here are simple and instead of elegant boutiques, small mom and pop shops and kiosks line the promenade. Many keep their cattle directly behind the house, they live here with nature.

Mehmet comes running out of his house in slippers and shorts and tells how the fire got into the village last week. When he points to the charred hills directly behind it, his eyes get red. “I can’t even look over at the hill, at the mountains,” says the 72-year-old and starts to cry. “What else can I say? What else can you say at all?”

The shock from the force of the fire still dominates him, and mourning for nature is mixed with it. Aysun has now joined the team. A small, petite woman with a colorful headscarf, like the women in the country wear here, loosely tied, her hair poking out at the front. They do not let go of the experiences either.

“They had a good time up there”

When the flames came, they ran to save what can be saved, says Aysun. “We called for help. But those up there in Ankara had a good time when our mountains went up in flames and we experienced an inferno. If we’re still alive today, it’s because we tackled it ourselves.”

“If they had intervened in time, this would not have burned down here,” says Mehmet. “But they didn’t do anything. They neglected us. That’s negligence,” he says, throwing away his empty cigarette packet. He doesn’t answer who he means by “she”. “I don’t say anything about that. I don’t want to say anything about politics. I don’t do politics.” His wife follows his words. He shouldn’t his Say names, she whispers to him. Mehmet looks out at the sea, at the spectacular fountains of a fire engine that is obviously performing an exercise.

Then Aysun bursts out: “The way it looks here – that speaks for itself. Instead of putting on a show off the coast with a fire-fighting vessel, they should come and see it with their own eyes.” When the flames were further away, no one would have taken it seriously. “The next time you come and ask for our votes, they’ll see.” Aysun isn’t the only one openly criticizing the government, but that can have repercussions.

Erdogan blames mayors

Last week, a woman’s nerves went crazy when the Minister of Agriculture visited one of the affected villages in the hinterland of Bodrum. You’ve been fighting for your belongings all night, she calls out to the minister, and asks him where the fire-fighting helicopters were. The government should be ashamed and resign, the woman kept shouting. Turkish media are now reporting that the woman has since been arrested.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan replied to the allegations last week in a television interview: “You are spreading terrorism,” he says. He also refers to allegations of the opposition CHP. She provides many of the mayors in the affected communities. They would be responsible for the bad crisis management. The political mud battle in Turkey is on.

Opposition warns of a division in society

In the Antalya region, a CHP politician had insulted a reporter from a government-affiliated television station after she had interviewed those affected. The politician said that Turkish “trolls” were allowed to come from Germany to get the appropriate statements. The reporter contradicts that one does not tell lies. She turns to the camera and says: “The CHP MP from Antalya, Rafet Zeybek, comes here to stir up the people.”

One politician after the other visits the crisis regions and looks at the damage. Many try to make political capital from the mistakes of political opponents. On the other hand, sentences like those of Meral Aksener, the head of the opposition Iyi Parti: “I said from the start that we have to be careful that we don’t divide society” are rare. That also applies to the government. There was much to be said about the negligence and negligence of the government. “But I’m silent for the time being. First we have to put out the fires, then we talk about their inability,” said Aksener.

Mehmet looks at a couple of bowls of pumpkin seeds. His village already seems divided. While some fought the flames, others sat on the wall and ate pumpkin seeds.