CHP leader urges tents and water in quake-hit areas

HATAY

The earthquake-hit region needs more tents and shelters as well as water, the leader of the main opposition party has said, reiterating his call that all these problems should be resolved in unity.

“We are aware that certain issues remain unsolved despite 17 days having passed after the earthquake. Wherever I visit, people voice that they need water and tents. These must be resolved one way or another,” Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) said during a visit to Hatay late on Feb. 22.

He visited families sheltering in tents outside the city center with CHP’s mayors of Istanbul, Ankara, Aydın, Antalya, Tekirdağ, Adana and Hatay. During his tour he also paid a visit to a coordination center established by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Kocaeli Mayor Tahir Büyükakın. Kılıçdaroğlu expressed thanks to all the mayors who rushed to the help of earthquake victims, regardless which political party they represent.

“We are doing our best in helping the victims,” he said, informing that tent producers can only supply for the state-run Kızılay and AFAD, the emergency and disaster management agency, which do not have enough tents in their stock.

“But let’s not be unhopeful. They will be resolved,” he said.

Speaking of Hatay, a city that was most severely hit by the earthquake, Kılıçdaroğlu expressed his hope that the city, home to different cultures and religions for centuries, will be reconstructed. “It is our joint duty to revive Hatay with its splendid culture and historical nature,” he said.