Another anniversary of pain. We commemorate the thousands of lives we lost in the 1999 Marmara earthquake centered in Gölcük. The words "Those responsible will be found and precautions will be taken to prevent it from happening again" remaining in the air after that dark night further increase the pain with the feeling of helplessness. The February 6, 2023 earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş are an indication that we have not learned lessons over the years...
Earthquakes are the reality of our country, but in the polarizing poison of politics, it is not possible to compromise for a solution and walk on a common road map. The pro-government, profit-centered, "We'll handle it, I did it and done it" view, lack of merit, disconnection from reason and science; Unfortunately, building cities that are resistant to earthquakes and in harmony with nature, raising public awareness on this issue, and citizens asking for their rights and getting their rights are often in the way. If there are still reports of earthquake victims struggling to survive in containers, of bad materials used in some TOKİ residences, and if those responsible cannot be found, it is obvious that this struggle has failed.
The issue is non-partisan. The issue is the life safety of citizens and the right to housing, which are the duties of the social state. The issue is the future and national security of a country. But our reality is full of “buts” that we all know. The need for earthquake-resistant housing in Turkey is obvious. However, when we look at the policies followed from local to national level, the issue of economically accessible, affordable and safe housing for citizens in general is a challenging goal. A series of burning problems continue, including the economic crisis, problems in on-site transformation projects, greedy contractors, "reserve zone" discussions, shopping malls and earthquake gathering areas lost between buildings. The calls of the earthquake victims for "justice" are echoed in terms of holding accountable those who built the buildings that collapsed like paper and those who did not fulfill their duty of inspection.
Fighting earthquake; It requires an action package that has an overall social response and ensures trust and consensus in the state and its institutions. Misapplications in environmental policies and not allowing the approach that surrenders water basins, agricultural and forest lands to wild mining and concrete are also important parts of this. Just as it is necessary to question the stubbornness of "Canal Istanbul", which is an example of an understanding that turns a deaf ear to the warnings of experts against earthquake risk...
CYPRUS IS ON THE AGENDA AGAIN
Türkiye has recently been taking new steps in alliance models in the external security concept. It is not possible to read the NATO summit hosted by Ankara and, in this context, the Russia-Ukraine war, the US attack on Iran and the Hormuz tension, and the questionable Mecca defense alliance established by Turkey with Saudi Arabia, one of the Sunni countries of the Gulf, and Pakistan, the nuclear power of Asia, as developments that are disconnected from each other.
The strategic conflict in terms of energy and geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean once again shows that a difficult process is at the door. Relations between the countries of the region, including Libya, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Greece, as well as Turkey, are like walking on ice... On the one hand, there is dialogue and alliance formation, on the other hand, there is tension and the risk of being thrown into war. US-supported Israel, with its policies of occupation, annexation and massacre of Palestine, is the destructive power of the region and has collapsed in Gaza, which extends to the Mediterranean. News is on the agenda that the UN aims to restart 5+1 format negotiations on the Cyprus issue, including the guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the UK. On the Cyprus issue, Ankara continues to emphasize the two-state solution. However, looking at the developments in the region, it is possible that the pressures on the TRNC and Turkey will increase. Such as neutralization in the energy struggle, damming drilling ships, and isolation policies. It is stated that Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus, which signed a defense agreement with France, the only nuclear power of the EU, signed an agreement with Jordan last week to renew the Defense Cooperation Program. Tension is high in the Black Sea, as in the Mediterranean. It is obvious that Russia does not like the news of Turkey's missile sales to Ukraine.
As we wrote last week, every alliance inherently contains goals and enemies. When we look at the region, the formation of so many different alliances creates the risk of conflict as well as the balance of deterrence. Egypt is still not in the Mecca alliance, Jordan is not one of the important countries regarding Palestine, and other Sunni countries of the Gulf are not. There is no Shiite Iran either...
