Erdogan: Innocent People Were Exploited in Bingol

Commenting on a confrontation between residents and police that occurred yesterday, Bingol Governor Huseyin Avni Cos said: "There are people who want to capitalize on the earthquake. Would these kind of things have happened if there weren’t any provocateurs?" He added that there had also been people who tried to exploit the earthquake on Aug. 17, 1999. Asked whether he was to blame for the late distribution of tents, Cos replied: "This is out of the question. We distributed the tents immediately after we received them."

With 15,000 residences in downtown Bingol, Cos said that every single homeowner had demanded a tent under the influence of an "earthquake psychology."

National News Services / Bingol / TURKEY