Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized Monday for relief efforts after a series of deadly earthquakes killed tens of thousands in the country’s southeast in February.
Turkish president has come under heavy criticism from the opposition.
“Due to the devastating effects of the quakes and bad weather, as well as difficulties caused by damaged infrastructures, we were not able to work the way we wanted in the first few days,” Erdogan said during a visit to the Adiyaman province, located near the earthquakes’ epicenter, amid rising criticism over the government’s rescue response.
“For this, I apologize,” he added.
On February 6, two major earthquakes hit southeastern Turkey within a few hours, causing more than 40,000 deaths.
The Turkish president has come under heavy criticism from the opposition, with several politicians pointing to the country’s unpreparedness to handle such a large natural disaster.
The government’s earthquake response could be a key issue in the next general election, which should take place in May and June, and is likely to be the most closely contested in Erdogan’s rule.
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In a sign of growing anger, football fans called on the government to resign during several games over the weekend, slamming the government’s response to the quakes.
According to a report, Erdogan, who is seeking another term as president after two decades in power, has received strong criticism from earthquake survivors in Adiyaman in the southeast.
In the last election in 2018, Erdogan handily beat his secular opposition rival in that province.
“Due to the devastating effect of the tremors and the bad weather, we were not able to work the way we wanted in Adiyaman for the first few days. I apologise for this,” Erdogan said.
The February 6 quake killed more then 44,000 people in Turkey and thousands more in neighbouring Syria.
AFP reported the locals’ fury with the government from Adiyaman on February 10.
“I did not see anyone until 2:00 pm on the second day of the earthquake,” Adiyaman resident Mehmet Yildirim told AFP at the time.
“No government, no state, no police, no soldiers. Shame on you! You left us on our own.”
The catastrophe struck just as Erdogan was gaining momentum and starting to lift his approval numbers from a low suffered during a dire economic crisis that exploded last year.
Shortly after the quake, Erdogan had admitted “shortcomings” in the government’s handling of the disaster.
