Establishment of Disaster Ministry on agenda: Erdoğan
ANKARA
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said the support of Sinan Oğan, presidential candidate for May 18 polls, for the runoff election did not come over a bargain for a post for the latter, underlining that his government is mulling over establishing a Disaster Ministry as Oğan has promised for his supporters.
In a televised interview in May, Erdoğan said the opposition parties “engaged in speculative” arguments over Oğan’s endorsement of People’s Alliance for May 28 polls and that there was no bargaining between them as alleged.
“There was no bargaining between us and Sinan. Of course, opposition structures engage in speculative searches on such things. There were no such requests,” Erdoğan said.
“The whole point is, as in today’s text, there is a determination to establish a Disaster Ministry. We now have AFAD, but it is not at the level of a ministry. In other words, the case is raising it to the level of a ministry… This may come to the fore tomorrow, not as an AFAD but as a ministry,” he said.
The president said he believed that the union of the People’s Alliance with Oğan will benefit Türkiye.
Elaborating on the issue of sending refugees back to their homeland, a pledge expressed by Oğan during his presidential campaign, Erdoğan said, “We sent back 450,000 refugees. Our goal is to resettle 1 million more refugees to housing there. This will happen over time.”
The president also announced that the government would provide scholarships to all earthquake-affected students who lost their relatives in the earthquake or whose houses and workplaces were damaged.
Student loans of the earthquake victims will be converted into scholarships, he added.
“They will be placed in the dormitories first. Our students will be able to benefit from these opportunities by applying to the Youth and Sports Ministry,” Erdoğan noted.
Türkiye has embraced its kin throughout history and will continue to do so after the May 28 polls, Erdoğan tweeted on May 23.
One of the most important goals of their “Century of Türkiye” vision is the issue of making a new constitution, he said. “We wish to do this with the broadest consensus.”
Türkiye has become home of safety and well-being including the people of Circassian, Tatar, Gagauz, Albanian, Pomak, Bosnian, Turkmen, Meskhetian, Uzbek and Uyghurs.
“With our TİKA and the General Directorate of Foundations, we revived the heirlooms of our ancestors and revived our martyrdoms. With YTB [Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities], Yunus Emre Institute, and Maarif Foundation, we have protected our language, history and civilization values,” he said.
Türkiye lent support to Bosnia and Herzegovina during the flood and an earthquake in Albania, he said.
“We were the first to stand by our brothers. As a result of these works, which we have been continuing for 21 years, we have conquered the heart of Evlad-ı Fatihan again after a century of longing. Hopefully, after May 28, we will continue to protect the trust of the deceased Aliya,” Erdoğan stated, referring to Aliya Izetbegovic, the first president of Bosnia and Herzegovina.