Tuncer Bakırhan: Night-vision helicopters were not sent to the fire

DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan spoke at his party's parliamentary group meeting.

Addressing the disaster of the fire in Diyarbakır and Mardin, Bakırhan pointed to DEDAŞ as the primary culprit, stating that DEDAŞ has neglected the region for years and that infrastructure inadequacies paved the way for such disasters.

Bakırhan noted that preliminary reports from investigations launched into the fires in Diyarbakır and Mardin determined that the fire was caused by electricity. He also emphasized that hospitals in Mardin lacked the necessary burn treatment units following the fire, which further exacerbated the problems.

Bakırhan also touched upon economic difficulties and the impact of government policies on citizens. He emphasized that the rapid deterioration of the economy over the last year, coupled with rising inflation and interest rates, has led to a serious increase in the cost of living for citizens. Criticizing the inadequacy of the government's economic policies, Bakırhan stated that claims of "we are fixing the economy" are far from reality. He expressed that price increases in many basic necessities, from gasoline to electricity and food products, have seriously reduced the public's purchasing power.

Furthermore, Bakırhan stated that the government has remained inadequate in fighting poverty and that even the aid provided is insufficient to meet the needs of the public. He said this situation is driving citizens into more debt and even more difficult economic circumstances.

THIS PERSECUTION MUST END

"We have experienced the greatest disasters of recent years in the Çınar district of Diyarbakır and the Mazıdağı district of Mardin. We lost 15 of our precious lives in this fire. Cultivated lands, animals, and crops were destroyed. Now, I wish God's mercy upon our brothers and sisters who lost their lives and a speedy recovery to our wounded. My condolences to our people.

Our hearts are scorched; DEDAŞ, which has been seizing the jobs and bread of the regional people for years, has caused us great harm by leaving us without electricity and water. The primary culprit of this fire disaster is DEDAŞ. This institution, which does not even repair wooden poles dating back forty years, practically invited disaster. DEDAŞ does not produce service; it punishes society.

We have been calling for an end to this persecution for years, but there is no improvement! People's lives are being put at risk, especially in Urfa and Mardin. Even the grants given to farmers are being seized. The latest link in this persecution, which costs people their lives by failing to provide service, is this fire that has scorched our hearts.

Cutting off electricity in a region where hundreds of people are connected to oxygen tanks is persecution. The mentality that appoints trustees to the will of the people and condemns them to DEDAŞ applies a dual legal system based on political and economic exploitation to the Kurdish people. I am calling out once again from here; it is essential that this persecution and this injustice be brought to an end!

THERE IS NO BURN TREATMENT UNIT 

I am clearly stating the culprits of this great disaster; the culprit of the lives we lost is this very company. The Chamber of Electrical Engineers Amed Branch stated that there was no stubble in the fire area. Furthermore, the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's investigation also revealed that the fire was caused by electricity. But let us see if the necessary steps will be taken? According to the report of the Mardin Medical Chamber, there is no burn treatment unit in the city. Those who cannot account for this continue to blame the villagers as the culprits of the fire.

NIGHT-VISION HELICOPTERS WERE NOT SENT

Dear friends, we were in the field with all our municipalities and resources from the very first moment. We will continue to be at the service of our people. We saw those who did not want to hear when there were Kurdish laments, those who danced and celebrated, those who have no share in humanity. When it was the house of a Kurd that was burning, we saw those who did not intervene from the air and closed their eyes. Not a single one of the ten night-vision helicopters purchased in 2022 to extinguish fires was sent to the forest fires in Kurdish cities. If this is not hostility, what is it?

THE AKP-MHP IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MISERY

Those who are on alert 24/7 to appoint trustees did not take a single step while the region was burning. We are making a call again under the roof of the Parliament: The region affected by the fire must be declared a disaster area immediately. This is not a request or a plea; it is our debt to the citizens of this country, it is a necessity. All grievances of our citizens who suffered from the great fire disaster must be resolved immediately.

Finally, I would like to mention a few important points. The partisan President and his junior partner remained consciously and willingly silent during a great disaster. Let no one lecture us on brotherhood. Remaining silent is to approve the pain of this great disaster. This people will never forget this silence that approves of the disaster. Furthermore, those who made racist posts on social media after the fire should know that they will never be at ease as long as they enjoy our pain.

We will heal our wounds together against discrimination, hostility, and racism, with the solidarity of our municipalities and the peoples of Turkey.

Look, the persecution, racism, and discrimination applied to the Kurdish people bring misery to all of Turkey. Today, the peoples of Turkey are in the grip of misery, hunger, and poverty. The sole culprit of this picture of misery we are experiencing is the AKP-MHP alliance.

What have they been saying for 22 years? "We are fixing the economy." However, in the last year, inflation rose from 39 to 75, interest rates from 8.5 to 50, and gasoline prices from 21 to 41. Exactly 13 million enforcement files were opened during their term.

THEY ARE SETTING A TRAP 

They are even setting traps for the public in traffic to fill the treasury. Traffic fines issued in May 2024 increased fivefold compared to the same month last year. They cover those radar devices, they put them in inappropriate places, they are officially setting traps. They are practically a government of traps.

It is said that the economy is improving, but why are 100 tradesmen in Hakkari closing their shutters in just the last month, why are tradesmen in Edirne rebelling? We need to question these.

'BEARING THE CURSE OF A GENERATION'

Why do children in this country have to work in construction sites and fields instead of being at school desks? In 2023, at least 54 children lost their lives in work-related murders. Under this government, children are malnourished and have to settle for only two meals a day.

This government bears the curse of a generation that is becoming impoverished, going hungry, unable to dress sufficiently, and constantly struggling with deficiencies.

INFLATION 

Look, the cost of a glass of water exceeds 1 TL. If a family of four drinks 10 small glasses of water a day, they spend 1,200 TL per month just on drinking water. The AKP has brought the economy to such a point that people can no longer use the phrase "cheaper than water." Even water is no longer cheap. You heartless people! What will these people eat, what will they drink, how will they find shelter?

Dear Friends, the wreckage they have created is so great that one in every four families has become dependent on social assistance. 25 million people cannot live without aid. Since the last increase in the minimum wage, everything has been hiked: while bread was 8 TL in December, it is now 10 TL, potatoes rose from 11 TL to 15 TL, dried beans from 134 TL to 155 TL, and rice from 49 TL to 57 TL. Taxes on everything, hikes on everything; there is no minimum wage increase. Fear God, should millions of minimum wage earners eat stones?

'TAXES AND MORE TAXES'

Dear Friends, as you know, they have prepared a new package. This is not a "Reform Package" as they advertise it, it is a "Stab-in-the-Back Package." In the stab-in-the-back package, they will tax everything; they will raid the pockets of the working people. Tax on tips, tax on motorcycle couriers... Taxes and more taxes!

Do you want real reform? Enact a progressive wealth tax, end tax favors, stop waste and luxury in the public sector, stop transferring resources to war, the Palace, and Capital. With these resources, we could make the minimum wage 32,000 TL, provide basic income security to poor families, zero out VAT and SCT on basic food, increase pensions, provide rent support, make electricity, natural gas, and water free for households in need, and support farmers and laborers for production.

They have sunk the economy, and they have sunk the country. Now they say, let the laborers, retirees, the poor, and the millions trying to survive on minimum wage remain under the wreckage of the sunken economy. We reject this. We do not accept this dark order, this order of hikes and persecution. We have no time to spare for the amateur play performed between the government and the opposition. We do not need to play "he loves me, he loves me not" over whether the economy has improved or not. We need jobs, bread, peace, and freedom without a moment's delay.

APPOINTMENTS 

Look; while the region was burning and people were writhing in hunger, they tried to usurp the will of the people in Hakkari on June 3. We have said it from the first day: Municipalities belong to the people. We have been in the field for weeks, and we will continue to remain in the field and raise our voices until we take back our municipalities. When the Mardin governor attended the condolences held after the fire, the public showed their reaction. What does the Kurdish people say? "When there was a fire, only our municipality was by our side." These are the people who want to punish the public by usurping their homes and leaving them helpless.

Think of a people; in the 21st century, they are keeping watch day and night so that their municipality is not usurped. Give up this enemy law and this shameful situation. Let no one have any doubt that we will resist those who want to turn our municipalities into 'service buildings for the AKP'.

WE WILL ORGANIZE A RALLY 

On June 29, a rally will be organized under the leadership of labor and democracy forces with the slogan 'We Will Not Allow Trustees for Our Labor and Freedom'. We will strengthen the bridge of solidarity from Istanbul to Hakkari. This bridge of solidarity will also be the guarantee of our future. In the coming days, a 'March for Respect for the Will' will be organized from all over Turkey to Hakkari. We will object continuously until we send the bankrupt trustee regime away from Hakkari and the Kurdish cities; we will claim our will together with the peoples and the laborers."