ISTANBUL- Pelin Kahiloğulları, a member of the TOP Spokespersons Board, said that solidarity gives strength to the people, while Perihan Koca stated that the government declared war on the people with the state of emergency.

 

Social Freedom Party (TOP) Spokespersons Board members Pelin Kahiloğulları and Perihan Koca talked about their work and observations in the earthquake area. Pelin Kahiloğulları stated that she went to the Armutlu District of Defne district of Hatay on the first day of the earthquake and that they established a PEP Crisis Coordination Center in the city.

 

Kahiloğulları said, “We saw corpses wrapped in blankets at the entrances and edges of the apartments on the streets we walked. It was not clear who these dead were. There is the destructiveness of the earthquake. There were no officials in the city in the first days. People were trying to remove the dead and the survivors with the shock of the earthquake. On the other hand, they were trying to survive in the face of hunger, thirst and cold.”

 

'SOLIDARITY GAVE STRENGTH TO THE PEOPLE'

 

Expressing that they tried to heal the wounds of the people with the solidarity of those coming from outside the city in a short time, Kahiloğulları said: "This spirit of solidarity gave strength to the people. We established coordination centers as soon as we went to the region, TIRs from different cities were piling up in these crisis coordination centers. Aid in these trucks was distributed directly to districts, villages and neighborhoods. On days two and three this work was settled. The process, which was strengthened as a result of the solidarity of the people from different cities, reached most of the earthquake areas. Our party is currently trying to organize solidarity with women and children. In certain districts, we set up tents for women to reach their basic needs safely. We have set up play tents for the children and we are trying to be a balm for their wounds.”

 

'WAR HAS BEEN WAGED AGAINST THE PUBLIC WITH STATE OF EMERGENCY'

 

Speaking about the government's State of Emergency (OHAL) decision and the discussions about the "postponement of elections" by the ruling circles, Perihan Koca, a member of the TOP Spokespersons Board, said: "A war has been waged against the public with the declared state of emergency. The government put into effect the state of emergency weapon, which was used as violence during the earthquake process as it was during the pandemic and coup attempt. They declared this state of emergency as a weapon against the people in the earthquake. What needed to be done today was not a state of emergency, it was mobilisation. On the one hand, there is the reality of power that has remained under this rubble, and on the other hand, there is a great mobilization of the people from 7 to 70, regardless of their language, color or race. This will really have political consequences for the new era."