Erdogan faces mounting criticism over wildfires
BOZALAN, TURKEY >> As Turkish fire crews pressed ahead Tuesday with their weeklong battle against blazes tearing through forests and villages on the country’s southern coast, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government faced increased criticism over its apparent poor response and inadequate preparedness for large-scale wildfires.
Fed by strong winds and scorching temperatures, the fires that began Wednesday have left eight people dead and forced thousands of residents and tourists to flee homes or vacation resorts in boats or convoys of cars and trucks. Charred and blackened trees have replaced some of the pine-coated hills in Turkey’s Turquoise Coast while many villagers lost homes and livestock.
Firefighters on Tuesday were still tackling 11 fires in six provinces, including the coastal provinces of Antalya and Mugla that are popular tourist destinations. More than 150 fires that broke out in over 30 provinces since Wednesday have been put out, officials said.
A senior Turkish forestry official described the wildfires as the worst in Turkey in living memory, though he could not say how many acres of forest land the fires had devoured. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said strong winds were reigniting flames that had previously been brought under control.
As residents lost homes and livestock, anger turned toward the government, which admitted that it did not have a usable firefighting aircraft fleet. Opposition parties accused the government of failing to procure firefighting planes and instead spending money for construction projects that they say are harmful the environment.
In the village of Bozalan, in Mugla province, where homes and olive trees were incinerated, residents complained that the government’s response was inadequate.
“Our fire-extinguishing helicopters were insufficient,” said 58-year-old Mahmut Sanli. “If there was a firefighting crew in our neighborhood, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Nevzat Yildirim, 30, said he had called authorities in Mugla pleading for help but “nothing came.”
“We tried to protect our own homes through our own means, by filling up buckets. We organized ourselves with neighbors, youths and saved our homes,” he said.
In the nearby village of Cokertme, Gulseli Karaduman was seen using a fire extinguisher to save her olive trees.
“There has been no air support, nothing. For three days we’ve been living with this helplessness,” she said.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of Turkey’s main opposition party, accused Erdogan of lacking a “master plan” against forest fires and of ignoring warnings concerning global warming.
“We need to start preparing our country for new climate crises immediately. Our country is in the midst of a climate and water crisis,” he said.
Erdogan’s government has also been accused of compromising firefighting efforts by allegedly refusing help from Western nations during the early stages of the fires. But official said the government had only refused offers for small water-dumping planes.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday that Turkey accepted all offers meeting its needs. France and Greece also offered to send fire-dumping planes but were later forced to retract them due to fires there, he said.
Mayors posted videos pleading for aerial firefighting responses to local wildfires while celebrities joined a social media campaign requesting foreign help to combat the blazes. The campaign drew an angry response from a top Erdogan aide, Fahrettin Altun, who said “Our Turkey is strong. Our state is standing strong.”
Erdogan himself was accused of insensitivity after he threw bags of tea at residents from a bus during a weekend visit to the fire-hit Antalya region.