13 thousand people have lost their lives to date due to the new type of coronavirus (Kovid-19) that emerged in China and spread to the whole world in a short time. While the rapidly spreading virus was ignored for a long time in Turkey, the government took some measures after the confirmation of the first case. With the spread of the virus in Turkey, the government gave a break to the education in state schools, closed faith centers, cafes, movie theaters, playgrounds, social activity areas. While businesses like malls, banks and construction sites and heavy industry sectors that are the backbone of the economy of Turkey were kept working, the measures taken by the government is insufficient.

 

'TURKEY DOESN'T TAKE CONORAVIRUS SERIOUSLY'

 

Economist Asst. Assoc. Dr. Özgür Müftüoğlu who evaluated the economic crisis with the virus for Mesopotamia Agency (MA), said: "As a result of various pressures from the public, the fact that there is an epidemic was accepted. Thereupon, some measures started to be taken. But it was too late for that. Likewise, when we evaluate the economy stability package that Erdogan announced last Wednesday, we see that the government does not take this virus, which is spreading all over the world and creating a global crisis, seriously. When we look at the measures taken by the government, we see that it is taking the measures that benefit the interests of capital more, not the health of the citizens."

 

Pointing out that capital groups are trying to gain interest from the coronavirus, Müftüoğlu said: "While the cafes and cinemas are closed because of the coronavirus, places belonging to these capital groups are not closed. I have to ask why these places are not closed. There are people working there. For example, the number of workers working in shopping malls is around 500 thousand, these are the factors that increase the risks. Why were not measures taken in these places? When we look at who has an interest in this, we see that interests of several capital companies are being favoured. However, neoliberal policies, monetary policies are no longer responding to these crises. It creates a serious problem in the economy." 

 

 

Stating that the social texture was negatively affected within the framework of the decisions taken, Müftüoğlu said, “When we look at the social effects of the epidemic, we see that unemployment is the most important problem. When you close workplaces such as cafes, cinema and social activities, people working here become unemployed. We should also take this into account that most of the people working in Turkey are doing precarious work. Therefore, this brings with it a big social problem."

 

 

Alınan kararlar çerçevesinde sosyal dokunun olumsuz etkilendiğini kaydeden Müftüoğlu, “Salgının toplumsal etkilerine baktığımız da en önemli sorun olarak ortaya çıkan şeyin işsizlik olduğunu görüyoruz. Kafe, sinema ve sosyal faaliyetlerin geniş olduğu mekanları kapattığınızda, buradaki insanlar işsiz kalıyor. Bir de şunu düşünün Türkiye’deki insanların çoğu zaten güvencesiz çalışanlar. Dolasıyla bu da büyük bir toplumsal sorunu beraberinde getiriyor” diye konuştu.

 

'THEY ARE TRYING TO GET THROUGH THIS PERIOD WITH MINIMUM DEFICIENCY'

 

Stating that there is no significant measures in the precaution package announced by the President Erdoğan, Müftüoğlu said: "They advised the society to wash their hands, use cologne and pray while they are trying to create opportunities for the capital.The duty of the state is to eliminate the problems that may arise as a result of the social crisis. However, there is no alternative solutions for the common problems of the society. They are trying to figure out how can the capital benefit from the crisis or how can the capital get through this period with minimum deficiency."

 

'ORGANIZED REACTIONS WILL DEVELOP'

 

Müftüoğlu, addressing the 'precautions' created to benefit from the outbreak crisis and highlighting the importance of the reactions against this, said: "The workers in the world and in Turkey, that is directly getting serious harm from this outbreak will eventually organize and develop reactions against it. Voices will rise for the construction of a healthy and sustainable social structure. Workers, however, will also express that they will either risk unemployment or face starvation. Perhaps there is no physical unity right now but in terms of emotional unity, we can make predictions."

 

MA / Mehmet Aslan