President Erdoğan: "None of our citizens was left alone or helpless, neither in the earthquake zone nor where they went. From now on, the earthquake will be our top priority; our only concern will be to heal the wounds."
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan answered the questions of journalists on the NTV-Star TV joint live broadcast.
President Erdoğan began his speech by noting that the month of Ramadan has begun as of tonight. He said, "We will wake up for suhoor tonight, and I hope we will begin to breathe the spiritual atmosphere of Ramadan. May this spiritual peace for the entire Islamic world serve as a conduit for mercy on our martyrs, whom we sent to eternity in the earthquake and the elevation of their martyrdom. May it also aid in the healing of our over 100,000 wounded.”
Upon being asked to provide a general assessment of the work carried out on the 45th day of the Kahramanmaraş and Hatay-centered earthquakes, President Erdoğan said that debris removal and the construction of tent cities, container cities and prefabricated houses are proceeding rapidly.
Stating that the foundations of permanent residences will begin to be laid, President Erdoğan continued as follows:
"We will begin laying the foundations tomorrow. As promised, I pray that Allah will grant us the ability to complete these permanent residences within a year. Obviously, no other country could react and take action faster than Türkiye in the face of such massive destruction. We previously passed a similar test successfully. In the immediate aftermath of the quake, we dispatched teams, vehicles, and equipment from all over Türkiye to the affected region. Each member of our cabinet was dispatched to the earthquake zone and tasked to coordinate a province. Since that day, thankfully, our Ministers have served as coordinators there without leaving the region.
In addition to the deputies of each province serving there, officials from other provinces, including governors, assisted the Ministers there. To serve in the earthquake zone, we mobilized mayors and municipalities of other provinces, particularly metropolitan municipalities. We dispatched soldiers, police, gendarmes, paramedics, miners, and firefighters to the region, as well as anyone else you can think of. As you are aware, miners, in particular, possess exceptional underground and mining skills. We benefited greatly from them by sending them here. During this process, we mobilized thousands of pieces of construction equipment, ranging from aircraft to helicopters, ships to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), for our earthquake victims."
"We witnessed the successful work of all search and rescue teams"
President Erdoğan stated that they began professional search and rescue and debris removal operations within the first few hours of the earthquake. Erdoğan said: "Of course, there were harsh winter conditions back then. We witnessed their successful work. They did not give up, they did not tire, and they completed these tasks."
President Erdoğan stated that after the earthquakes, the nation's greatness was once again recognized, saying, "Our nation thankfully demonstrated the solidarity of the century in the face of the disaster of the century. We evacuated more than 3 million people very quickly. None of our citizens was left alone or helpless, neither in the earthquake zone nor where they went. From now on, the earthquake will be our top priority; our only concern will be to heal the wounds.”
President Erdoğan also noted the following about the latest situation regarding the investigations:
"Our prosecutors are investigating those responsible for the construction of buildings that collapsed in the earthquake. So far, action has been taken against 1364 suspects. Meanwhile, 302 suspects have been arrested, 466 suspects have been placed under judicial control, and arrest warrants have been issued for 312 suspects. It has been discovered that 4 of the suspects are abroad, and 64 of them have passed away. Among the 302 individuals arrested, 106 were contractors, 163 were in charge of construction, 15 were building owners, and 18 were those who altered the structure.
85 of the 466 suspects under judicial control are contractors, 294 are those in charge of construction, 56 are building owners, and 31 are those who carried out alterations in buildings. Legal proceedings continue. Once the investigations are concluded, indictments will also be sent to the courts. We will closely monitor each phase of the procedure, particularly the Ministry of Justice. Those responsible for my nation's suffering and those who failed to carry out their responsibilities will be held accountable before the law. There is no way out of here."
"We are not apprentices in this field; we have passed the journeyman test and attained mastery"
In response to a question regarding the current state of planning for the construction of permanent residences, President Erdoğan stated that the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change possesses both past experience and prototype projects.
Noting that the period of rebuilding and recovering the cities has officially and effectively begun, President Erdoğan stated, "We have already taken some steps. I always say that we have experienced similar situations in Van, Bingöl, İzmir, Antalya, Muğla and Manavgat. We demonstrated this experience not only through the enormous vertical architectural style in cities but also through the construction of ground-plus 3–4-story buildings and village houses. In other words, we are not apprentices in this field; we have passed the journeyman test and attained mastery."
Emphasizing that thousands of architects, engineers, hundreds of academics, and tens of thousands of workers are engaged in extensive work on the new settlements, President Erdoğan continued:
"On one hand, ground surveys continue at a rapid pace. With the help of these ground surveys, we will continue to construct permanent homes on dry, solid ground, as opposed to wet, soft ground. Since February 21st, a total of 40,104 disaster-resistant houses have been put out to tender, including 13,629 in Gaziantep, 2,280 in Adıyaman, 645 in Kilis, 2,928 in Hatay, 8,773 in Kahramanmaraş, 897 in Şanlıurfa, 6,644 in Malatya, 505 in Elazığ, 1,171 in Adana, 1,657 in Osmaniye, and 1,122 in Diyarbakır.
Similarly, 6,223 village houses have been tendered, including 600 in Osmaniye, 620 in Kahramanmaraş, 2,800 in Malatya, 1,500 in Adıyaman, 300 in Şanlıurfa, 310 in Gaziantep, and 93 in Kilis. Thus, the construction process of a total of 46 thousand 327 disaster houses and village houses in the disaster zone has begun, and I hope that within a year, we will build 319,000 houses in 11 provinces and 650,000 houses in total and deliver them to the beneficiaries. We will lay the foundation for 8,773 houses in Kahramanmaraş, which we will visit tomorrow with Devlet Bahçeli.
"Houses were built on the fault line"
President Erdoğan responded to criticism that "it is not healthy to lay the foundation for permanent residences while the aftershocks continue," saying:
"Whoever makes a claim is obliged to prove it. We are not taking these actions for the first time in these circumstances. Of course, those who say this do not have such an experience in their past. You set the target, but it could take 13 months, 14 months, or 15 months. We proved this in the massive earthquake that occurred in Van. We proved that from the centre of Van to Erciş. Those interested can visit Van and view Lake Van from the Edremit district. This government restored that district overlooking Lake Van after that earthquake. In the same way, we have completely rebuilt Erciş. In İzmir, for example, we do not use vertical architecture, and the first thing we did was to conduct ground checks quickly.
Unfortunately, in Hatay, these residences and constructions were built in the Amik Plain extensions. According to the information we currently have, all this area is on fault lines.
President Erdoğan stated that all houses built on the fault line date before 1999.
Seismic isolators will be used in public construction projects
Expressing that the citizens in the earthquake zone entered the damaged houses despite the warning, President Erdoğan said:
"Our hope is that they will heed these warnings in the coming days. We will take these steps by acting on the ground plus 3 and ground plus 4 projects that we have. We will even use seismic isolators to build state houses or public buildings. Despite the increase in cost, I have given Minister Murat Kurum the necessary instructions. I advised him not to avoid these expenses and to use seismic isolators in our construction projects. We recently held a meeting of 110 people in Istanbul with state officials and academics. The second of these meetings took place in Gaziantep, chaired by Minister Kurum.
After the Van and Kütahya earthquakes, we learned that it is possible to construct buildings in these regions if the ground survey is performed correctly, the soil strength is accurately determined, the ground has sufficient reinforcement, and, most importantly, if areas far from fault lines are selected. We laid our foundations 15 to 20 days after the Elazığ earthquake, despite the continuing aftershocks. Thankfully, none of the houses we constructed following the last earthquake sustained even the slightest damage. If any damage or cracks occur in the concrete and moulds we poured due to aftershocks, they are quickly repaired with various techniques. Currently, we are planning and initiating construction in the region based solely on these criteria. We have sensitivities about the setting of concrete and the formation of cracks and destruction. At this stage, our engineers execute the concrete casting procedures with extreme precision and care."
President Erdoğan stated that no city, including Ankara, would be safe from an earthquake and that he does not believe it is appropriate to be overly concerned about an "earthquake disaster."
President Erdoğan recalled that when he was the mayor of Istanbul, he had advocated "subjecting the entry to Istanbul to a visa" and said:
"Entering Istanbul should not be simple for anyone. There must be a cost to enter Istanbul. For example, there are certain rules about this in London. They will permit you to enter if you comply with these rules. Why is this happening? I am not saying this concerning the earthquake alone. It is also the traffic. Vehicles and parking lots there are subject to certain restrictions. When I was its mayor, Istanbul had a population of 8 million, but it currently has a population exceeding 15 million. Sadly, Istanbul was not planned as it was thought; the plans were not carried out as thought. Since nobody adheres to those plans. "
Recalling that he had been referring to "urban transformation" since becoming mayor, President Erdoğan said, "We've largely implemented them. Yet, now we are working on these projects as a state. In response, the opposition started referring to urban transformation everywhere they went as "rental transformation". Because it does not work for them. Unfortunately, the job of collecting rent belongs to the opposition. They do it well."
"We exerted every effort to realise urban transformation"
Stating that Istanbul Fikirtepe addressed Kadıköy and Üsküdar, President Erdoğan said, "We exerted every effort to realise urban transformation in Fikirtepe. We have just implemented this urban transformation there. We have faced a lot of difficulties."
Along the same line, President Erdoğan claimed that with urban transformation, magnificent residences had been constructed in Üsküdar Küplüce, Ferah Neighbourhood, and Yavuztürk.
"Yet in a certain part of town, my citizens put up a lot of resistance and prevented us from doing it. In order for them to see us and comply with it, I even had my own apartment demolished for urban transformation in Burhaniye. For instance, if you visit there, you will witness how lovely and how much of a source of pride and honour the urban transformation is for the people there. They blocked my way about a month ago and said, "Sir, please come and demolish our houses, too." "Look, I told you a year ago," I said. "Your houses would be in the same situation right now if we had done these things a year ago." They responded, however, by saying, "We made a mistake; please start now; we are the guarantors." Then I said, "I will inform our mayor, and we will transform this place immediately."
President Erdoğan said that he told the crowd assembled in front of the neighbourhood mosque after the Friday prayer, "Please permit us to demolish your buildings. I tell you what; we will pay your rent anywhere you choose. Let us start demolishing this place right away. If there is an earthquake here tomorrow, I am afraid buildings will collapse. Who will you then demand an explanation from after that? You will question Erdoğan. Do not let me be in this position. "
"We need to be prepared for potential disasters"
Saying, "Of course, the hybrid learning option—which combines distance and face-to-face learning—will be assessed if the circumstances swiftly improve again. For this, it is first required to make it possible for our earthquake victims to shelter safely and peacefully. President Erdoğan reported that they were keeping a close eye on the situation and were in touch with the President of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) about it.
President Erdoğan emphasised that face-to-face learning could not be compared to distance learning but added that normal life would be restored as a result of the actions taken.
"The Civil Protection Mechanism of the Organisation of Turkic States is an important step"
Upon the question, "After the earthquake, many countries around the world sent aid to Türkiye. We saw that the Organisation of Turkic States took an important initiative, and the Extraordinary Summit of Leaders was held in Ankara. How do you assess the messages at this summit?" President Erdoğan emphasised that the Organisation of Turkic States was now one body and said:
"We were there for them during any of their hardship. They were there for us when we had any difficulty. We received the support of our brother countries, from search and rescue efforts to the healing of earthquake wounds. We also held the extraordinary summit of the Organisation of Turkic States, which demonstrated solidarity with our country, in Ankara, where we took an important step and decided to establish the Civil Protection Mechanism of the Organisation of Turkic States. This was an important step. Our hope is not to need this mechanism at all. However, we must be prepared for all kinds of disasters, and we took this step based on this. Azerbaijan in particular, and Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, blessings to them, all came to the summit and observed the efforts here with the same enthusiasm."
"Children start their education in peace"
Recalling that there were 26 airports in Türkiye when they took office, and they increased this number to 58, President Erdoğan said, "We said, the East shall have whatever the West has. That is, we did not say the West already possessed these and ignored the East and Southeast. Why? Türkiye is our homeland with all its 780 thousand square kilometres. We said we must build and revive every corner of our homeland."
Recalling that they increased the number of universities in Türkiye from 78 to 208, President Erdoğan said that there were currently universities in Iğdır, Ağrı, Muş and Hakkari too.
Stating that primary school children struggled to find books in the past, President Erdoğan said, "We had trouble finding books, for instance. When we went to the stationery store, they gave us an appointment for a week or 10 days later. A week, 10 days later, we would go and buy our books and notebooks from there. We lived through these days. Whose days were those? Those were the days of the Republican People's Party (CHP). They made us experience these days."
President Erdoğan noted that when the classrooms open, children find their books already on their desks, placed beforehand so they may start their school year peacefully today.
"We have to be successful in healthcare"
Referring to work conducted in the field of healthcare during their office, President Erdoğan said:
"In terms of hospitals and healthcare, we know the times when Mr Kılıçdaroğlu, the goodbye Kemal, were the general manager of Social Security Institution (SSK). The late Savaş Ay had moderated a TV programme. Savaş Ay explained the Gentleman very well in his programme. Okmeydanı SSK... It was also the district where I resided. He was talking about those, excuse me for telling this, who died and were taken hostage in Okmeydanı SSK. We experienced these situations. That place is now Prof Dr Cemil Taşçıoğlu City Hospital, and we have done it. Such progress... Whereas we talk about city hospitals, the goodbye Kemal turns out and says, 'We will not build city hospitals or anything.' If we didn't have these city hospitals, if we didn't have these two city hospitals in Ankara if we didn't have them in Istanbul, what would we do in the COVID outbreak? If we have successfully survived COVID, we have survived thanks to these city hospitals. Think of the city hospital in Isparta; think of Mersin, Adana. In other words, the city hospitals there helped us to get through this process successfully."
Expressing that they would build city hospitals in all metropolitan cities in the future, President Erdoğan said, "Because we have to be successful in healthcare. In addition, we have training and research hospitals in every province. We will continue to build them. Because you cannot advance without having a healthy country."
Black Sea grain corridor
Stating that the greatest example of Türkiye's success in diplomacy was Russia-Ukraine relations and that Türkiye was currently being lauded for its role as a mediator in the Russia-Ukraine war, President Erdoğan said: "Whether the opposition accepts this or not is another matter for discussion, but we have already been recognised in the world on this issue."
President Erdoğan, who stated that everyone is talking about Türkiye's success in the Black Sea grain corridor, went on to say:
"In fact, our negotiations with Mr Putin are crystal clear. He gratefully said, 'I will send the grain through the grain corridor, but 44 per cent of it goes to Europe from here. Let's send that to underdeveloped African countries.’ I told him, 'Then you send the grain, and we will turn it into flour here and run it through our mills. After it goes through our mills, let's send it to underdeveloped countries.’ We have reached such an agreement. In two or three days, we will speak with Mr Putin by phone. We will also take action in this area. Fertiliser is also in short supply. We will also procure and supply these and try to relieve the global markets and underdeveloped countries by sending these to them. Today, I received the Ambassador of Gambia's approval, and he thanked me while we were talking. For the next process, we have a lot of steps to take."
President Erdoğan stressed that Türkiye has exemplary zero-waste practices and said that First Lady Emine Erdoğan would make a presentation at the United Nations at the end of this month. President Erdoğan emphasised that these invitations were received as a result of the actions taken.
President Erdoğan made the following remarks:
"It would take days to list all of the structural reforms we have implemented in Türkiye, each of which is a silent revolution. However, we have done things that cannot be summarised or completed by telling. We accomplished the impossible. As I always say, 'beware the point we have arrived at,' the distance between two points is so great that we cannot complete it by explaining. When I say 'Hagia Sophia' to some people, they understand what we have accomplished. However, some people do not understand what we mean when we say 'Hagia Sophia'. When I say 'Karabakh' to some people, they understand, but some still do not. We walk together with those who understand when I say 'Hagia Sophia'. We walk together with those who understand what I mean by saying Karabakh. When I say 'Togg', for example, there are those who understand and those who do not. However, they recognise the point we have reached. When I tell them, 'We discovered natural gas in the Black Sea,' they understand where we are. When I tell some people about our UAVs, UCAVs, Akıncı, and even further, the point we have reached in unmanned aerial vehicles, there are those who understand, but while the world understands, there are still those who do not understand. They do not understand when you say Kızılelma (MİUS). The Kızılelma is a horizon. Therefore, not everyone can reach that horizon. We claim to have created up to one million jobs per year, those who understand the meaning of labour, the sweat of the brow and bringing bread to their homes understand, but there are those who do not."
"We achieved another goal in New York similar to Kızılelma"
President Erdoğan said their works spoke for themselves and referred to the Türkevi Center in New York. He emphasised that the Türkevi, which was built directly across from the United Nations building, demonstrated Türkiye's position and stated:
"Right across from the United Nations in New York, we constructed a 32-storey building that is taller than the UN building. What exactly is this? This is a goal. In other words, it is a second Kızılelma. In New York, we realised the same thing. There are leaders from all over the world who attend. We had the opportunity to host them there and continue to do so. However, by doing these things, you demonstrate that you are a great state. You cannot be a great state unless you have these. It is unfit for Türkiye to be small. By constructing this structure in New York, directly across from the UN, we have set a good example by demonstrating the point Türkiye has reached with the Türkevi."
“They attempt to mislead the nation with deceptive and erroneous approaches”
President Erdoğan remarked that the National Combat Aircraft, whose footage was showcased during the broadcast, resembles the unmanned fighter jet Kızılelma.
President Erdoğan stated that the defence industry produced UAVs, UCAVs, Akıncı, and Kızılelma and that, in addition to this, the state also carried out activities under its own control, adding:
“We are taking joint steps with Qatar in Arifiye. Some attempted to misrepresent these actions by falsely asserting that ‘these facilities in Arifiye were sold.’ There is no such thing. They stated, "The Arifiye facilities were sold to Qatar;" however, Qatar shipped 10,000 containers to our earthquake zones. If such relations did not exist between our countries, would Qatar provide us with such monetary and in-kind support? When Qataris arrived in Arifiye, they did not ask for these facilities for free. What did they do with a 51% or 49% share here? They came and became BMC partners. But some do not conduct any research or seek knowledge; rather, they attempt to mislead the nation with deceptive and erroneous approaches. I wish we had partners like Qatar who invest in our country because global capital is constantly required.”
President Erdoğan noted that just 56 companies were operating in the defence industry in 2002, but that number has since increased to 2700 and added, “Here, we have been the pioneers of diversity, competition, and the industry. It is now impossible for a single corporation to monopolise any defence industry sector.
President Erdoğan used Türkiye's domestically produced tanks as an example, noting that the country also has munitions and continued, “Does Türkiye produce all of these munitions domestically? Yes. In the past, though, we left no stone unturned to get these munitions. However, they are presently produced in Türkiye. Thus, in any war, may Allah forbid, we will utilise these without needing anyone.”
President Erdoğan said he had something to tell the nation and added, “Türkiye will not readily be a party to any war. Türkiye will constantly be a defender of peace and on the side of peace. Also, it will take action to contribute to international peace. In fact, this is reflected in the role we perform concerning Russia and Ukraine.
Togg: “The current demand is eighty thousand”
When questioned about the domestic electric vehicle, Togg, which has begun to receive preorders, President Erdoğan expressed his excitement that it will soon be on the road.
President Erdoğan stated, "The current demand is eighty thousand," after declaring that Togg is the shared pride of 85 million people.
President Erdoğan added that Togg received numerous orders and that they made a sixty-year-old dream a reality.
Highlighting that Togg has seven different colours, President Erdoğan said that as of the end of this month, it would adorn the streets and serve as the true emblem of the Century of Türkiye.
Expressing their great pride, President Erdoğan emphasised that preorders for Togg began on March 16 and that 22,150 orders were placed within the first 24 hours.
President Erdoğan stated that 14,780 electric vehicles had been sold in Türkiye since 2012, highlighting that the atmosphere generated by Togg, which got orders five times as many electric vehicles in six days as were sold in ten years, indicates that Türkiye would be among the nations that accelerate the switch to electric vehicles the quickest.
President Erdoğan remarked, “We refer to it as a vehicle, while the producers label it a ‘smart device.’ This year's production goal for our Togg smart device is 20,000, but inshallah, we will have produced one million Toggs by 2030. May it be auspicious."