Two earthquakes in ten provinces in Turkey, whose epicentres were the districts of Pazarcik and Elbistan in the province of Maraş, killed thousands of people and the number of people trapped under the rubble is unknown. Even three days after the earthquake, there are countless settlements that no government aid has reached yet. Most of the survivors are still trying to rescue those trapped under the rubble with their own resources.

Instead of strengthening civilian disaster relief and planning further relief measures for the earthquake victims, the Turkish government declared a state of emergency (OHAL) on the second day after the quake. The measure entered into force after approval by members of the parliament on Thursday.

According to latest figures announced by Erdoğan on Thursday afternoon, the death toll from Monday’s earthquakes has risen to 16,170, and the number of those injured to 64,194. He reiterated that earthquake victims would be provided with 10,000 TL each.

It is to be feared that Erdoğan will exploit the earthquake and the imposition of a state of emergency to prevent opposition forces in particular from organising urgently needed self-help in the affected areas. Thus, Erdoğan wants to use the earthquake disaster as a pretext to let the upcoming elections in the Kurdish areas take place under state of emergency conditions.

Furthermore, it is also to be expected that the state of emergency will severely restrict reporting from the earthquake areas and thus conceal the devastating effects of the disaster and the failure of state emergency aid. Especially in the Kurdish areas, the experiences after the severe earthquake in Van in 2011 have justifiably led to a high level of mistrust in the state disaster relief, and it is also evident after Monday's quake that the deployment of the rescue forces is insufficient and the provision of relief goods for those affected is questionable.

Turkey is in the middle of an election campaign, which is why it is especially important now for Erdoğan and his AKP/MHP government to silence critical voices. Especially with regard to the extent of the destruction and the number of victims, the official reports and eyewitness accounts and the statements of those affected diverge widely. While the government pretends to have the situation under control, people from the disaster areas report that they have not yet received any help. Images and reports from the people on the ground, NGOs and opposition parties are unwanted and are now to be prevented by the imposition of a state of emergency.