Addressing earthquake victims during an iftar in Şanlıurfa, President Erdoğan said: “A strong political will and a strong administration lie behind our success in implementing a century’s worth of services in just 20 years.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan shared an iftar dinner with earthquake victims in Şanlıurfa.
Recalling that the February 6 earthquakes, which struck Şanlıurfa as well among other neighboring cities, have been one of the most destructive disasters not only in Türkiye’s history but also in the history of humanity, President Erdoğan added that the floods that followed the quakes cost 21 lives, including 17 from Şanlıurfa.
“OUR AIM IS TO REVIVE ALL THE CITIES BY BUILDING A TOTAL OF 650 THOUSAND RESIDENCES”
Wishing Allah’s mercy upon the over 50 thousand citizens killed by the quakes and the ensuing floods, President Erdoğan said: “14 million people in 11 provinces were affected by the consecutive quakes. There were left almost no undamaged buildings in many of the provinces and their districts. We saw that the structures built before 1999 have extremely low resistance against tremors. 872 thousand independent units of the 311 thousand buildings across the country have become unusable. 22,469 independent units of the 12,728 houses in Şanlıurfa were either moderately or heavily damaged.”
Stressing that construction works have already been launched for over 100 thousand residences and village houses across the quake zone, President Erdoğan stated: “Our aim is to revive all the cities by building a total of 650 thousand residences, including 319 thousand residences and village houses to be built within a year. We will build 11 thousand residences and village houses in Şanlıurfa. We will keep working until each one of you have your new homes.”
“TÜRKİYE’S NATIONAL SECURITY STARTS FROM BEYOND ITS BORDERS”
Underlining that terror and instability had retarded investments and services in the East and Southeast Anatolia regions for years, President Erdoğan stated that terrorism is the worst trouble inflicted on Türkiye by imperialists and that the country cannot reach its political and economic goals without resolving this issue once and for all.
Underscoring that Türkiye’s national security starts from beyond its borders, President Erdoğan said: “We cannot go to sleep peacefully so long as there is no peace in our region. We cannot feel safe while terrorist organizations are harbored in areas right beside us and while terrorists roam freely there. We can never be safe while there is a terrorist formation in the north of Syria or Iraq equipped with air power, land power and asymmetrical weapons. The aim of those who have stripped these countries of security, peace and prosperity is to drag Türkiye, as well, into the same quagmire. We never have and never will allow this to happen. We will increasingly continue our efforts to that end in the future as well.”
“138 BILLON LIRAS’ WORTH OF INVESTMENTS WERE MADE IN ŞANLIURFA OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS ALONE”
Noting that 138 billon liras’ worth of investments were made in Şanlıurfa over the past 20 years alone, President Erdoğan said that countless services and projects were implemented in the province in many areas including education, health, transportation, industry, agriculture and tourism, and added: “A strong political will and a strong administration lie behind our success in implementing a century’s worth of services in just 20 years.”
Pointing out that there is now a completely different atmosphere in the East and Southeast Anatolia regions and that these regions are now experiencing the most peaceful and prosperous days of the past 40 years, President Erdoğan said: “Services interrupted by terror for years are now abundantly being put at the service of our brothers and sisters in these regions. We cannot allow any concession from these gains, for which we confronted countless hardships and made countless sacrifices. We cannot allow Türkiye to return to the shady and chaotic days of the 1980s, 1990s. We cannot allow separatists and FETO members, who have grown increasingly more daring and reckless in recent days, to rob our children of their dreams. May 14 marks a turning point in this respect, too, along with many other respects.”
https://www.tccb.gov.tr/en/news/542/145721/-a-strong-political-will-lies-behind-our-success-
