Green Left Party releases report on seven months since Maras earthquake

Meral Danis Bestas, deputy parliamentary group leader of the Green Left Party, released a report on the seventh month since the Maras earthquake on Feb. 6 at a press conference in Parliament.

Bestas said earthquake victims live in tents and containers and have been abandoned by the government to fend for themselves. She said that more than seven months later, people are still searching for the bodies of missing relatives through personal efforts.

The deputy chairwoman pointed to discrimination in reconstruction efforts, with housing being built only in villages that support the AKP (Justice and Development Party) and MHP (Nationalist Movement Party). She also criticized the lack of prosecution of builders responsible for collapsed buildings due to frequent changes of prosecutors.

Bestas called for an urgent session of Parliament to address the ongoing problems caused by the earthquake. The party has collected 65 signatures on a petition calling for an extraordinary session. She called on all parties to respond to this urgent call, saying that the earthquake would not wait for the summer holidays while lives and cities are destroyed.