Erdogan: Vein of Shame was Broken Before the Fault Line

Erdogan issued statements about the current events in the group meeting of his party. He began his speech by condoling the people of Bingol, going on to say that the quake has forced Turkey to confront long-ignored problems. The prime minister said that the quake that occurred on the first day of May caused some additional ‘loss’ beyond the obvious loss of life.

Pointing out that people needed to carefully consider the lost lives of the children who perished in Celtiksuyu, prime minister Erdogan said it was inaccurate to define the malpractice and irresponsibility [of the contractors] as "fate". Erdogan added, "What happened in Bingol is not equipment thievery but a crime against humanity." Erdogan also said that government’s concept of the term ‘reconstruction of the corrupted’ must go beyond the obvious repairing of the physical damage caused by quakes.

Omer Sahin / Ankara / TURKEY