Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel completed a week-long tour of earthquake-hit provinces in southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, marking the anniversary of the devastating 2023 quakes, while renewing criticism of the government’s disaster response.
Özel’s trip, which began Feb. 2, included visits to Osmaniye, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaraş and Hatay, and concluded in Adıyaman and Malatya on the anniversary of the disaster.
Responding to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s criticism describing him as an “earthquake tourist,” Özel pointed to his week-long presence in the region and contrasted it with the president’s recent foreign travel.
Özel said that some 270,000 people remain in container housing in the quake-affected areas and accused the government of failing to deliver on promises to provide permanent homes.
During a weekly CHP meeting held in Kahramanmaraş on Feb. 3, Özel criticized authorities for what he described as inadequate services in the disaster zone and alleged efforts to manipulate public perception of recovery efforts.
“The government, which has been in power for the past 22 years and therefore had enough time to get prepared for an earthquake, was totally unprepared for the earthquake,” he said.
