The number of victims of the earthquakes in Northern Kurdistan, Rojava, Syria and Turkey continues to rise. While thousands have already been reported dead, countless people are still trapped. There is little hope left for most of them. Meanwhile, the AKP/MHP regime has declared a state of emergency and is trying to use the relief efforts in its political interest. Mustafa Karasu from the Executive Council of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) issued a statement on the earthquake and the resulting situation.

"THE TURKISH STATE IS TRYING TO HIDE ITS OWN FAILURE"

Karasu first wished the injured a speedy recovery and offered his condolences to the families of the victims in Turkey and Kurdistan. He accused the Turkish state of continuing to conceal the extent of the disaster and said: "It was indeed a very severe earthquake. The losses are great. There has probably not been an earthquake like this in Kurdistan and Turkey for centuries. The authorities are trying to gloss over the scale of the earthquake. The death toll is underreported. Of course, we too want there to be fewer deaths and less destruction. But we need to reveal the facts so that society and humanity can develop a stronger solidarity. Tens of thousands have lost their lives. There are just as many injured. Tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed. To hide this reality is to whitewash the scale of the earthquake. It weakens serious actions that need to be taken because of the earthquake. Doing something like this to avoid panicking people is wrong. In fact, the Turkish state is trying to hide the truth about itself in this way. The Turkish government is trying to hide its responsibility in this disaster. It is trying to hide the fact that it has not taken measures against destruction caused by earthquakes. We strongly condemn this action." Karasu underlined that the AKP/MHP regime is thus trying to ease its own situation. He called on people not to be deceived by the regime and to mobilise help at all levels.

"AFAD ITSELF COLLAPSED IN THIS EARTHQUAKE"

At the same time, Karasu criticised the lack of aid in the region and accused the disaster management agency AFAD of being only a "sham institution". He continued: "The destruction is huge. But the governmental organisation called AFAD is not able to provide enough help. AFAD itself collapsed in this earthquake. It turned out that AFAD is just a show organisation. If there had been a small earthquake, AFAD might have been able to show that the agency was doing something, that it was doing its job. But now more than ten provinces, including cities in Turkey, but especially in Kurdistan, have been destroyed in this earthquake. Thousands of villages have been destroyed and devastated. AFAD, of course, is not in a position to respond to this. It lacks the organisation to do so. This state does not provide funds for it and does not invest in building such organisations. The regime is only concerned with making its own clientele, its supporters, rich. There were no provisions at all. After the 1999 earthquake, the earthquake tax was introduced, and ten billion dollars were collected. With this tax, AFAD could have been better built. The municipalities could have been better equipped in this regard and then disaster response would have been possible in such a situation.

It is not easy to help with such disasters from a distance. The municipalities should be strongly organised in this respect at the local level. Because they can intervene immediately in case of a disaster. But AFAD was set up just for show and has now collapsed. AFAD has no presence anywhere. Maybe some people have been sent to one or two provinces. Is that enough? How are they going to reach ten provinces, hundreds of towns and thousands of villages? AFAD is not in a position to do so, either organisationally or at the level of its resources.

"THE STATE ITSELF IS BURIED UNDER THE EARTHQUAKE"

The state itself has been buried under the earthquake, it has collapsed. The state is responsible for the deaths. Because people are saying on TV that there are no forces from AFAD there, no help is being organised. What will happen? Aid will come in three or four days. Help will come from all over the world. But the important thing is that local rescue teams are mobilised right now."

Karasu criticized the fact that the revenue from the earthquake tax was embezzled and distributed among the regime's supporters, saying, "They supposedly built roads or other things with the money. This is a crime. The money was confiscated under the law for precautions against the consequences of earthquakes. It is a crime to take money for something else. Quite apart from the legal issue, it is a moral crime."

"STATE INSTITUTIONS CANNOT OVERCOME SUCH DISASTERS"

Instead of relying on the failing state, society itself should build solidarity, said Karasu and continued: "Such disasters and calamities are overcome by the solidarity of society. State institutions cannot overcome them. Throughout history, people have overcome such earthquakes and disasters through the solidarity of neighbourhoods and their surroundings. Now there is a centralised state. Some fake institutions have been created. When the disaster happened, these collapsed. The state is helpless in the face of such disasters. This is obvious."

Karasu accused the state of also hindering social solidarity, saying that civil society transport of tents, blankets and relief goods to the crisis areas is repeatedly stopped. Despite its failure, the state is trying to concentrate the aid on itself in order to capitalise on it, said Karasu, and accused the state of claiming that its own resources in disaster management were sufficient. The state, he said, branded anyone who asked for help abroad as a traitor. “Now, however, the state has had to open its doors to the international community because it is helpless itself. The nationalist propaganda has now collapsed.”

"SOLIDARITY AND ORGANISATION OF SOCIETY IS CRUCIAL"

Karasu continued: "The solidarity and organisation of society is the crucial thing. Society finds a real solution. We have to understand that. The potential of society lies in healing all kinds of wounds. The people of Kurdistan are organised and conscious. They are taking action themselves against the consequences of the disaster. We should not expect too much from the state. The state was not established for society, it is a structure to exploit society, to oppress it. The Turkish state in particular is an authoritarian, fascist system. It is a war regime. Some of the earthquake money was spent on road construction, some was spent on war.. The state boasts of its military might, its drones and its means of war. But in an earthquake, it cannot save the people. It cannot heal their wounds."

"SOCIETY SHOULD ORGANISE ITS OWN SOLIDARITY STRUCTURES"

Karasu warned of the low temperatures, sometimes below -15 degrees: "The first few days are crucial. The weather is very cold at the moment. But everywhere we look, they say the aid from AFAD or other agencies has not arrived. At most, it's for show. AFAD goes to one or two buildings in a city and does salvage work. What about the other buildings? Hundreds of apartment blocks collapsed. Maraş, Elbistan, Afşin, Narli, Göksun, Malatya, Adıyaman and the surrounding villages were all destroyed. Most of the old houses collapsed. So, who will do the rescuing here? The organisation of society is attacked, solidarity is prevented and criminalised, but the state itself nevertheless does nothing. This cannot be so. Against this background, instead of complaining and without waiting for the state, society should organise its own solidarity structures everywhere. We say this to show the reality of the state."

"SOLIDARITY WITHOUT DISTINCTION NECESSARY"

Regarding the damage and deaths in Northern Kurdistan, Rojava, Syria and Turkey, Karasu said: "Our people should be in solidarity everywhere, in North Kurdistan, in Syria, in Rojava. Without differentiating between Arabs, Turks, Kurds and Syriacs, the Kurdish people should help and stand by all disaster victims."

"DIASPORA FROM AREAS WEST OF THE EUPHRATES MUST SHOW RESPONSIBILITY"

Talking about his own experience in the region, Karasu said: "I know the area very well. I know the landscape and the way the houses are built. I know how impassable and cold the region is in winter. In the past, vehicles could not drive to our villages for six months. They could only be reached by sledges. And now the destruction in Afşin, Elbistan, Pazarcık, Narli and their surroundings, in places like Doğanşehir, Akçadağ and Adıyaman, is really huge. Yes, there was also destruction in Urfa and Amed (Diyarbakır), but the destruction is greater west of the Euphrates. Therefore, I think that our people's solidarity with the people living in these areas at the epicentre should be especially great and that these areas must be rebuilt. Many people from Pazarcık, Elbistan and Afşin who live in Europe can support the reconstruction. A large part of our people in south-western Kurdistan emigrated to Europe after the Maraş massacre [1978]. Some of them also live in the big cities. They did not show solidarity immediately. Today, they should heal the wounds and rebuild the destroyed villages. They should make the region a place to live again. They have this responsibility."

"NO ONE SHOULD BE LEFT HUNGRY AND UNPROTECTED"

Karasu stated: "There are no relief workers in the villages, there is no solidarity. Only between the neighbouring villages has there been some solidarity. Now everyone is in a bad situation. Everyone has to deal with the disaster themselves. Of course, the neighbouring villages, the well-preserved and the less destroyed villages should help the others. There are already appeals. All civil society organisations and democratic forces in Turkey are calling for this. We have also done it. People should, if they have the opportunity, take in those who have been affected by the earthquake. No one should be left hungry and unprotected. Everyone should share their food. Everyone should share everything. And of course, from places where there are no earthquakes, from Marmara, the Aegean, from everywhere help must flow to the areas. Aid should also come from the Black Sea."

Karasu called for support for the reconstruction of the region, saying: "The Kurdish people and the peoples of Turkey should set an example of solidarity as one. Fraternity becomes evident at such moments. It is in such moments that the importance of living together is shown, it is in such moments that humanity is shown."