8 February 2023
6 FEBRUARY 2023 MARAŞ EARTHQUAKES:
NEGLIGENCE BRINGS ABOUT DEATH AND DESTRUCTION, NOT EARTHQUAKES
On 6 February 2023, at 4.17 a.m., one of the deadliest earthquakes in history with a magnitude of 7.7 occurred in Sofalaca, located between Pazarcık District of Kahramanmaraş and Şehitkamil District of Gaziantep. The earthquake hit hard the provinces of Kahramanmaraş and Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Hatay, Adana, Osmaniye, Kilis, Malatya, Şanlıurfa and Diyarbakır and caused unprecedented destruction. Before the shock of the first earthquake was over, a second one with a magnitude of 7.6 occurred at 13.24 on the same day in Ekinözü located in Elbistan District of Kahramanmaraş. These earthquakes affected Syria as well as Turkey, and many Syrian cities, particularly Aleppo and Afrin, were devastated. According to the statement released by the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) as of 10.35 on 8 February 2023, 7,108 people lost their lives and 40,910 people were injured due to the earthquakes. We extend our heartfelt condolences to all our people and the families of those who lost their lives, and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded.
According to the Syrian News Agency, 2,530 people were killed and 4,645 people were wounded in Idlib, Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Tartus as of 11.30 on 8 February 2023. According to news reports, 1,280 people have lost their lives and 2,600 people have been wounded in the north and north-east of Syria, especially in Afrin and other regions as of 8 February 2023. We extend our condolences to the Syrian people and wish the wounded a speedy recovery.
As everyone did as soon as the earthquake struck, we called İHD executives in the cities affected by the earthquake and tried to get information and learned how devastating the situation was. The information we received from the field was that search and rescue activities in the settlements destroyed in the earthquake were almost non-existent for the first 36 hours, or where they were, they were carried out through local means in a very limited way. Since the government concentrated all the powers at the center, it was unable to act or it simply passed off the level 4 crisis situation it declared on the first day. This situation has clearly demonstrated that there is a very serious governance problem or administrative system problem in Turkey. The 2017 Constitutional referendum for the presidential government model, which was declared to be backed by the Supreme Board of Elections, has further made the administrative system in Turkey even more authoritarian and rendered local governments completely ineffective. Turkey faced the dire consequences of this administrative system at the time of the earthquake.
İHD approaches the issue from the perspective of protecting the right to life. There is no exception to the protection of the right to life. In protecting the right to life, the political power has the obligation of prevention first, and rescue by intervening directly when a disaster occurs.
Turkey is located on a first-degree seismic zone. Therefore, it is necessary to establish earthquake-resistant settlements and to construct earthquake-resistant buildings. There is sufficient legislation in this regard. There is, however, very serious neglect in practice, sometimes amounting to criminal negligence. One of the reasons why this cannot be prevented is the policy of impunity. Particularly frequent blanket amnesties for crimes other than those covered by the Anti-Terror Law and practices under the name of supervised release (probation) leave criminal negligence, conscious negligence and probable intent go almost unpunished. Therefore, when we look at the earthquakes that have occurred in the last 10 years, it should be remembered that public officials and those responsible for building construction were granted impunity. When it comes to crimes against the right to life and bodily integrity of individuals, impunity must not be allowed in any way.
Another responsibility of the state is to make public resources available in the fastest way possible when a natural disaster occurs, and to rescue people. The state must establish necessary organization to this end. Since Turkey is in an earthquake zone, in case of natural disasters, in addition to the central administration, the main authority should have been given to local administrations and opportunities should have been created for local intervention in accordance with the principle of decentralization. However, contrary to the principle of decentralization, Turkey’s administrative system is based on the principle of a strict centralized authoritarian administration. The fact that the existing local governments have been left in abeyance under the trustee regime causes the consequences of natural disasters to be experienced more severely. It is, thus, imperative to make administrative regulations to evolve towards the principle of decentralization as soon as possible. Further, the state has the responsibility to quickly carry out search and rescue, and intervention. In the Maraş earthquakes, it is understood that this responsibility was not fulfilled within the first 36 hours.
As soon as the search and rescue activities for the earthquake are completed, the competent Chief Public Prosecutors’ Offices should initiate effective investigations into those who were responsible for zoning in settlements that were not earthquake-resilient, those who built houses there and those who permit them. The state should also take lessons from all these and adopt an earthquake-resilient settlement policy and cover all the costs of this policy itself.
There are many things that can be said about the earthquake. However, in the context of the protection of the right to life, we demand that the extraction of people under the rubble be accelerated without further delay. The special needs of groups such as children, women, refugees, persons with disabilities and the LGBTI+ should be taken into consideration during and after search and rescue operations. Efforts of people and groups providing volunteer search and rescue and health/social services should be facilitated. Taking into account the public’s need to be informed, real data should be continuously disclosed.
İHD would like to state that it is unnecessary for the government to declare a 3-month state of emergency due to the earthquake as of 8 February 2023, when the existing legal possibilities are sufficient (strict centralized authoritarian system), while this situation is aimed at limiting the space of civil society as well as the political and social opposition in the earthquake zone. While the political power should have received the support and contribution of everyone at a time of such a major disaster, the declaration of a state of emergency cannot be considered in good faith. There is no need for a state of emergency. It should be lifted as soon as possible.
İHD will regularly monitor the earthquake zone through its branches and executives. It will increase solidarity and carry out relief efforts. We would like to state that solidarity and support should be emphasized in such times, but responsibilities should not be forgotten.
İHD calls on everyone to support people in the earthquake region in solidarity.
HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION