ICMLPO: Let us stand in solidarity with the people of Turkey and Syria facing the earthquake disaster...

Our call to the working class and peoples of the world:

Let us stand in solidarity with the people of Turkey and Syria facing the earthquake disaster...

In the early hours of 6 February, a major earthquake struck ten provinces in south-eastern Turkey and even in Syria. More than ten thousand buildings were destroyed or damaged and tens of thousands of people were trapped under the collapsed buildings. The death toll from the rubble now exceeds thirteen thousand. Unfortunately, this number will increase in the coming days, as not even five per cent of the rubble has been removed.

It has been seen that the one-man administration at the head Erdogan, which only seeks to maintain its power, has done nothing to prepare for the earthquake. Almost half of Turkey is an earthquake zone and scientists have been warning the government for a long time about the possibility of an earthquake in the region where the disaster occurred today. Roads leading to the earthquake zone were closed due to snow and traffic congestion. On the third day, sufficient rescue teams and vehicles had still not reached the region. In many city and towns and particularly villages where no rescue team reached, the earthquake victims were completely alone with their fate. Some areas were snowy, others rainy and the temperature was below zero. On the third day of the earthquake, survivors are still deprived of shelter and warmth and are hungry and thirsty with no food. Telephones work intermittently or not at all.

Due to the time and weather conditions, the possibility of rescuing people alive from the rubble is getting weaker and weaker.

The government declared a State of Emergency in ten provinces, citing the earthquake as an excuse. However, the last State of Emergency experience has shown that the State of Emergency targets Erdogan's opponents, not the needs of the people. It will not be surprising that this time it will also work to suppress the voices of the people who are angry with the government for not receiving aid.

The people of Turkey need international solidarity and aid. The government has centralised the delivery of aid, does not allow anyone to help outside its control and is not trustworthy because of its reputation for corruption. Aid to the people must therefore be in the form of material aid and delivered to non-governmental organisations. The need for cold-resistant clothing, hygiene materials, barracks and cold-resistant tents, as well as financial aid to meet the needs of the earthquake victims.

As the Coordination Committee, we send our condolences to the working class and labouring people of Turkey for their losses, health for their wounded, and success in their work to the sister Labour Party, whose provincial buildings in Malatya and Iskenderun were destroyed and who suffered losses, and we convey our feelings of solidarity.

CİPOML Coordination Committee

8.2.2023