Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan, Kars MP Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit, Van MP Sinan Çiftyürek, Istanbul MP Celal Fırat and Democratic Alevi Associations (DAD) Co-Chair Zeynel Kete participated in the commemoration events in Malatya, one of the 11 provinces struck by two Maraş-centered devastating earthquakes one year ago.

The delegation first visited the earthquake victims living in the container city in Çavuşoğlu neighbourhood and then went to the DEM Party Provincial Organisation building, where they were welcomed by party members and executives as well as many residents. Here, a torch was lit in memory of those who lost their lives in the earthquake. DAD Co-President Zeynel Kete commemorated victims of the earthquake and stated that they would not forget what happened. Kete pointed out that the policies aimed at depopulating the Alevi-Kurdish geography gained momentum with the earthquake and added, “We will overcome these days by joining hands in unity without despairing for a moment even at the most chaotic times.”

Addressing the earthquake victims, Bakırhan shared his observations during his visit to Adıyaman yesterday. "People are trying to continue their lives in tents and containers without water, roads and educational opportunities for their children."

Emphasising that not only the government but also the main opposition party was left under rubble, Bakırhan said: "The government asks for an account instead of giving an account. It accuses the people, judges and imprisons those who criticise it. What the President said in Hatay is a discourse as painful and heartbreaking as this disaster itself. Right, Hatay did not vote for you, but Adıyaman, Malatya and Maraş did. The situation in the cities that voted for you is the same as Hatay. We went to Adıyaman to see a ruined city where people can’t find work. The government, which is responsible for this massacre and should have resigned, behaved as if nothing had happened and it had no responsibility. We condemn this. As the DEM Party, we will stand with you against the government that does not take responsibility for the consequences."

Bakırhan stressed that the government of a country witnessing such a thing would have collapsed, adding: "But let alone the government collapsing, even the head of the Red Crescent, which sold tents after the disaster, did not resign. This is a government that avoids taking responsibility. We will ask and question them. We will be your voice until these problems are solved. The mayor who had the biggest share in the destruction of Hatay was nominated again. Not only the government but also the main opposition party mocks us. Those who should be held responsible are being rewarded. Then they say, 'Why does the DEM Party nominate its own candidates? If you put the fascists, rightists, murderers, and those who had a hand in the deaths of tens of thousands of our people in front of us, of course we will boo you like the earthquake victims. Both the government and the opposition have been buried under this wreckage. They did not give self-criticism. They re-nominated the mayors who were at the forefront of issuing zoning amnesty in the places where they were in power. We never think like them. We are not on their side either," he said.