A delegation consisting of HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) Spokeswoman Ebru Günay, Kurdish politician Ahmet Türk, DTK (Democratic Society Congress) Co-Chair Berdan Öztürk, DBP (Democratic Regions Party) executives and HDP deputies have today joined the relief efforts in Adiyaman.

The delegation visited Adıyaman Cemevi (Alevi place of worship) where donations are collected, and the kitchen established by the Çınar Municipality.

Speaking here, Ahmet Türk said the following: “Today we are on the 12th day of the disaster. Unfortunately, our people are facing a great disaster. According to our research, tens of thousands of people lost their lives in Adıyaman alone. Unfortunately, the governor of this city does not know about the city’s residents. The Governor of Adıyaman is not even aware of the scale of the disaster. When we came here, there was not a single effort to rescue people trapped under the rubble. But our people, not only Kurds, but all those from all over Turkey, came here. In particular, NGOs, left-wing political parties and the HDP have tried to reach everywhere since the first day. But the state blocked NGOs and opposition parties.

As you know, the government seized the place where our friends collected aid in Pazarcık district of Maraş. They even appointed a trustee there. We want to reach the villages, but they are trying to prevent it. They confiscate humanitarian aid supplies. The disaster caused by the government is greater than the disaster caused by the earthquake. The government has remained irresponsive for days. There has been no coordination for days. Many state institutions stopped their work because they waited for instructions from a single man. No rescue efforts were made for two days while people were under the rubble. This was the biggest disaster.

However, no matter what they did, we have tried to reach every place together with our people. Our party is making great efforts, not only in Adıyaman, but also in Pazarcık, Maraş, Elbistan, Hatay, Gaziantep, together with non-governmental organizations, pro-democracy people and academics. No matter what they do, we will try to eliminate all these troubles and pains together.

Speaking after, Ebru Günay said: “The state could not rescue our people trapped in Adıyaman and could not send aid teams. It did not send tents. It condemned the survivors to hunger, thirst and cold weather. From the very first moment, as the HDP, we have worked to help the earthquake-stricken areas and mobilized to provide help. From the first day, we have been in every city hit by the earthquake. We have carried out our work together with our volunteer friends there. Today we are in Adıyaman Cemevi. Special thanks to Adıyaman Cemevi for opening its doors to us.

There is a huge crowd here right now. At the same time, a meal center organized by our Diyarbakır Çınar Municipality is providing service here. Out of more than 50 municipalities, we only have 6 municipalities that were not appointed trustees, and they mobilized from the very first moment to deliver aid to the earthquake victims. If our municipalities had not been usurped, we would have healed the wounds of the earthquake victims and our people who faced the disaster by now. Unfortunately, we have seen very clearly for the last 12 days that the government will not heal these wounds. Furthermore, the government is trying to prevent the help of philanthropists and volunteers. This government is creating new wrecks. However, we will continue these aid efforts together with the Democratic Society Congress, Peoples' Democratic Congress, DBP and all our components.”