No War Preparation in Mardin

The United States (U.S.) will use Turkey's southeastern town of Mardin as a base during a possible war in Iraq. But the people there do not seem to be prepared for possible war threats. "We would not know what to do if there was an attack here," said the Mardin and Kiziltepe mayors. "We are very scared, no one is informing us," they added.

Mardin mayor Abdulkadir Tutasi told Bianet that he had left the town during the Gulf War. "But now, the people here neither have the means to quit the region, nor any information about how big the danger is," Tutasi said.

According to Kiziltepe mayor Cihan Sancar, the U.S. troops are not contributing to the region's economy. "They are renting places owned by already wealthy people," Sancar said.

The people want the war to end at once

According to Tutasi, the fact that the U.S. has asked its citizens to leave the region proves that the region is under threat. "The fact that we have not been informed about anything shows that they do not place any importance on us."

* Mardin is a U.S. base but we have no kind of preparation for a possible attack here. We were shocked during the Gulf War and even I ran away from Mardin. But now, we do not know when the war we start.

* The life has stopped here for the last six months. If there is an attack here, we are planning to take shelter in caves. In my opinion, there should at least be a municipality shelter, but there is no word from officials on what we should do. The people now want everything to start at once and to end as soon as possible.

"Some people in Mardin have already become rich as a result of the possible war"

Sancar said the U.S. troops rented fields that belonged to already wealthy people.

* The Mardin governor and other officials are saying they are taking measures for a possible war. However, they have not given any information to the municipality.

* Through our own means, we have set up a crisis desk. We will be able to distribute food to 700 people everyday. We also have a team of health personnel and bought tents. However, we are not planning to build shelters. We do not know what to do in that matter. The people are trying to build shelters in their basements.

* The people in Kiziltepe are worried about the fact that the region is used as a base. The U.S. military officials have already examined our state hospital for use if necessary. We are constantly speaking about what could happen, including the possibility of the use of chemical weapons. We are restless because we are in a region that is under threat. We do not want this war.

* The U.S. troops do not have much contact with the local people. They do not contribute to the region's economy either. The U.S. troops have rented factories and fields that belong to people who have connections with lawmakers from the ruling Justice and Development Party and the opposition Republican People's Party. Other places that were rented belong to wealthy people. So, there are already people here who became rich as a result of the possible war. (OG/BB/NK)