Murat Kurum and our goldfish memory

"Whoever wins Istanbul wins Turkey; whoever loses Istanbul loses Turkey!" Let us begin our article with this famous quote from President Erdoğan. Ultimately, as a nation, we have the memory of a goldfish. There is no one better than us at forgetting.

As we forget, we believe. As we believe, we forget...

There are 15 days left until the election. Last night, I caught the speech of the People's Alliance (Cumhur İttifakı) Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality candidate Murat Kurum on the main news.

"Earthquake transformation is a matter of survival for this country" he was saying. "It is a matter of Istanbul's future! It is as important as the fight against terrorism! That is why, viewing this issue as being above politics, with a perspective and understanding that transcends politics, just as we did in Elazığ, Malatya, İzmir, Kastamonu, Rize, and Bartın, and just as we most recently initiated the construction of 180,000 homes in 3 months following the disaster of the century, we will work day and night with the same understanding in Istanbul and make our Istanbul earthquake-resistant!"

Kurum, too, has fallen victim to our goldfish memory. Is he only just hearing about the expected Istanbul Earthquake, which has been voiced by scientists since the disaster of August 17, 1999?

Why did the AKP not make Istanbul earthquake-resistant during its 25 years in power?  

Did Kurum, who served as the Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change between 2018 and 2023, not sign the zoning amnesty announced in 2019?  

Were shopping malls not erected on many of the earthquake assembly areas in Istanbul?

Were 300 out of the 470 designated earthquake assembly areas in Istanbul not opened for zoning? Were residences and skyscrapers not built on them? Were emergency access roads not turned into parking lots? (Source: TMMOB)

Murat Kurum was a senior student in the Department of Civil Engineering at Selçuk University during the August 17, 1999 earthquake. His master's degree is in Urban Transformation!  

The August 17 Marmara Earthquake affected Turkey's most important region in terms of both population density and economic activity.

According to official figures, 18,373 people lost their lives and 48,901 people were injured in the earthquake. 5,840 people were recorded as missing. It was stated that 364,905 residences and workplaces were destroyed or damaged to varying degrees.

The year Kurum completed his Master's degree in Urban Transformation, urban transformation became the most important item on Turkey's agenda.

The government under the premiership of Bülent Ecevit implemented significant legal regulations to be used in post-earthquake relief and rescue efforts and to mitigate the economic damage caused by the earthquake.

The most important of these was the establishment of a non-partisan structure consisting of 20 scientists and researchers, the National Earthquake Council.

The National Earthquake Council prepared an inventory for Istanbul. It was revealed where the destruction would occur. An Earthquake Master Plan was prepared.

Earthquake containers were placed in many parts of Istanbul, and assembly areas were designated.

However, the AKP, which came to power in 2002, opened a large portion of these assembly areas to development.

Since the AKP came to power in 2002, exactly 11 laws have been enacted under the scope of zoning amnesties.

The Special Communication Tax (ÖİV), known as the "earthquake tax," which was initially introduced by the Ecevit government to cover the costs of the major 1999 Marmara earthquake and later became permanent, has completed its 24th year in practice. While the total current revenue collected during the 24-year period from 2000, when collection began, to the end of 2023 reached 104.6 billion Turkish Lira, it has been determined that when updated with the cumulative inflation that occurred from that date until the end of January this year, the real value of the tax corresponds to 731.5 billion Turkish Lira. (Source: Dünya Newspaper - Naki Bakır)

What was the special communication tax collected as an earthquake tax used for?

The National Earthquake Council, which authored the earthquake master plan, was abolished by the AKP government through a circular published in the Official Gazette on January 6, 2007.

Why was the National Earthquake Council abolished?

Why was the national earthquake master plan shelved?

The EMASYA (Security-Public Order-Assistance) Protocol, which granted the military emergency intervention authority in the event of a possible earthquake, was abolished in 2010, also during the AKP government's tenure.

Why was EMASYA abolished?

Why did the AKP not make Istanbul an earthquake-resistant city during its 25 years in power?

If Murat Kurum, who is a candidate for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, truly views the Istanbul earthquake as being above politics, as he has stated, then he must provide answers to these questions...