President of the Association for Earthquake Victims and Relatives of the Missing speaks out

Selahattin Kaban, President of the Association for Earthquake Victims and Relatives of the Missing (DEMAK), announced that 145 people remain missing following the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, 2023. Kaban stated that the rejection of research and parliamentary questions aimed at locating the missing has deepened the families' grief.

WHERE ARE THE 44 CHILDREN?

Noting that 44 of the missing are children, Kaban called on authorities to hear the families' voices and ensure the missing are found. He stated, "Where are these 44 children? Hear the voices of these families. Do not reject the motions, accept them. Let them be investigated, let our children be found, let our adults be found. Let our 145 missing persons be found."

145 MISSING PERSONS

In his speech, Kaban provided the following information: “18 months have passed since the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes. The earthquake missing have still not been found. In the file I have, there are 145 missing persons, 44 of whom are children. We have missing persons in various age groups, from a 6-month-old baby to a 17-year-old child. Children such as Abbas Yiğit Köse, Esila Özgür, Melisa Önder, Muhammed Enes Demir, Furkan Alparslan, Mehmet Akif Koşar, Mustafa Kemal Koşar, Asel Kılıç, and Nevra Dönmez have still not been found. Every motion submitted has been rejected; every motion submitted to establish a research commission has not been accepted.”

Kaban added that in the responses given to the parliamentary questions regarding the missing children submitted by Gaziantep MP Hasan Öztürk and Aydın MP Süleyman Bülbül, it was stated that the children were not missing. The association demanded that authorities take urgent and effective steps, calling for the missing to be found as soon as possible.