People waiting under the debris in Antakya: There is hope but there is no work
"Neither a rescue team arrived nor has been any work carried out until now. We have been waiting in front of the rubble for days. AFAD is not doing any work, 'We should hear a voice,' they say."
"Neither a rescue team arrived nor has been any work carried out until now. We are waiting in front of the wreckage for days. AFAD is not doing any work, they say, 'We should hear a voice.' Work has started today, but again AFAD is not here."
"AFAD came days later. Antakya is in tatters, and they come here with three people. Neither a crane nor an operator. They say we cannot do anything, there are no vehicles. Here people pulled their people from debris digging with their hands..."
"Everything is very slow. Why are they so slow? The rescue work should be quicker. Maybe there are hundreds, thousands of people under the wreckages. What are they thinking? Will they throw away our dead together with the debris? Why are they doing this to Antakya? Why aren't more teams sent here?"
Antakya, Hatay is one of the places worst hit by the February 6 earthquakes.
There are almost no buildings in this district of Hatay that has not collapsed. Those that have not are all heavily damaged, buildings are unusable, and entering is already risky, let alone staying in them.
The district is completely destroyed.
Trucks bringing aid materials are blocking traffic. There are kilometers of vehicles at the entrance of the city. However, the search and rescue work still has not reached their destinations.
"There was no one in Antakya for days"
Deniz Umman is waiting in front of the collapsed house of his wife's family at the entrance to Antakya.
He says that they are trying to rescue and save those trapped all by their own means. He especially underlines that there was no one in the first two days. He says that AFAD arrived on the second day, but could not work since they came without any teams.
"Neither a rescue team arrived, nor any work carried out until now. We are waiting in front of the wreckage for days. AFAD is not carrying out any work, they say 'We should hear a voice.' Work has started today but again AFAD is not present. İstanbul Municipality (İBB) came on Tuesday. It is almost that the work has started only today (Thursday). Those coming from İBB are running from one wreckage to another, they go to where a voice comes from. We are waiting but we do not know if they will come out alive."
"There are hundreds under wreckage but no work"
Duygu Umdu is another one waiting for her beloved next to the same wreckage. "What should we say, we do not even know what we need," she says.
"Four days have passed. Why is it that we still cannot use our cell phones? No rescue teams arrive. AFAD is not present in many places. Everything is very slow. Why are they so slow? The rescue work should be quicker. Maybe there are hundreds, thousands of people under the wreckages. What are they thinking? Will they throw away our dead together with the debris? Why are they doing this to Antakya? Why aren't more teams sent here?"
"AFAD did not work since there was no voice"
Sevgi Y. who is a nurse working in Ankara for one year is waiting for her mother, father, and brother in front of the wreckage. She came to Antakya as soon as she learned about the earthquake but they were not able to do anything up until now.
"We came direct away, but there was no one here. AFAD teams came on Tuesday at midnight but they said they would work here if they hear a voice. There was no voice in our apartment so they went away.
"We started digging ourselves. We did not have any equipment, and it was dark but people got out with their own efforts, we pulled them out with our own efforts. There are still those who are rescued alive, I hope my family members will also come out alive. But we are tired of waiting here, helplessly, they have to send more teams here."
"If only I was also under the debris"
Another woman is waiting for her daughter, son-in-law, and two-year-old grandchild. Her own house is a single floor and it did not collapse but was heavily damaged.
"They would rescue them if they had started working from the first day on. We tried but we could not do anything. AFAD came on the second day but only looked and went away. Diggers arrived on the third day. My husband is working in order to rescue our other children also under the wreckage. I have a grandchild who is two years old. If only I was also under the wreckage so that I would not see this." (RT/PE)
bianet eğitim ve mülteci hakları editörü. Evrensel, T24, Taraf, Bakurpress, JİNHA, Jin news, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi ve Yeni Yaşam gazetesinde, yargı muhabirliği, politika editörlüğü, hak ihlalleri ve...
bianet eğitim ve mülteci hakları editörü. Evrensel, T24, Taraf, Bakurpress, JİNHA, Jin news, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi ve Yeni Yaşam gazetesinde, yargı muhabirliği, politika editörlüğü, hak ihlalleri ve kadın alanlarında çalıştı. İstanbul Aydın Üniversitesi İnternet Gazeteciliği ve Yayıncılığı, Marmara Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Gazetecilik bölümünde okudu.
A university student diagnosed with bipolar disorder has been released from pretrial detention after being arrested during protests sparked by the detention of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
The student, whose identity has not been disclosed, was among at least 301 people, most of them students, who were detained and later arrested during demonstrations held across Turkey. Over 1,800 people were taken into custody during the protests.
Protesters have been held in pretrial detention for about two weeks on charge of violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations, an offense that typically does not lead to actual prison time even if a sentence is issued.
The student's lawyer, Bilal Yıldız, told bianet that his release was approved by a judgeship today following an appeal.
“My client was wrongfully arrested,” Yıldız said. “We submitted an appeal to the Criminal Court of First Instance. Although the release decision came late, it is welcome. The family is very happy. Our fight will continue until an acquittal is secured. Justice has been served.”
Yıldız previously told bianet that the student had serious health problems in prison due to lack of access to prescribed medication.
He also claimed that officers from the Counterterrorism and Cyber Crimes Units verbally abused and physically assaulted the student while transferring them to a hospital. Despite that, medical reports after examinations of the detainees said there was "no battery or coercion."
The protests broke out following the Mar 19 detention of Mayor İmamoğlu and quickly spread across the country. During the demonstrations, many students alleged mistreatment during detention. Families of the detained formed a solidarity network and called for their children’s release.
Background
İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and dozens of others, most of them municipal officials, were detained in police raids on the morning of Mar 19. The operation came just days before İmamoğlu was expected to be declared the Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate in the party’s presidential primary scheduled for Mar 23.
Authorities have launched two separate investigations involving a total of 106 suspects. One centers on terrorism-related charges, while the other involves alleged corruption.
The terrorism probe focuses on the CHP’s cooperation with the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party during last year’s local elections. The two parties collaborated at the district level, with DEM refraining from fielding candidates in some areas to support the CHP, while in other districts, DEM members ran on CHP lists and were elected to municipal councils. This strategy, dubbed the “urban consensus,” helped the CHP win 26 out of İstanbul’s 39 district municipalities and secure a majority in the metropolitan council.
Prosecutors allege that this alliance was orchestrated by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), citing public statements by PKK leaders during the campaign urging cooperation with the opposition. The first arrest linked to the investigation was Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer, a Kurdish academic, who was jailed and removed from office in January. Ten more officials from six district municipalities were arrested in February. The investigation has since expanded to include İmamoğlu.
The corruption investigation, which affects 100 of the 106 suspects, involves allegations of bribery, embezzlement, fraud, and bid rigging in municipal subsidiaries. İmamoğlu is accused of leading a criminal organization for profit.
The CHP has described the operation as a "coup" against an elected mayor and called for public demonstrations. Saraçhane Square, in front of the metropolitan municipality building, has become the focal point of protests, where CHP leader Özgür Özel addresses large crowds each evening.
University students have also staged protests in various cities. While most gatherings have remained peaceful, clashes between demonstrators and police have led to daily detentions. Dozens more have been detained in home raids linked to the protests.
Authorities imposed internet restrictions on the morning of İmamoğlu’s detention, severely slowing access to major social media and messaging platforms. The bandwidth throttling, which rendered many apps nearly unusable, lasted for around 42 hours.
Additionally, the Interior Ministry has detained numerous individuals over protest-related posts on social media. Court orders have blocked access to various leftist and student group accounts.
On Mar 23, İmamoğlu was remanded in custody on corruption-related charges while the court ruled an arrest for terrorism-related charges was not necessary. A total of 51 people were remanded in custody, 48 on accusations related to financial misconduct and three to terrorism. Those who were arrested in the terrorism investigation are Mahir Polat, deputy secretary-general of the Metropolitan Municipality, and mayor and deputy mayor of the Şişli district. Forty-eight other suspects were released on judicial control measures.
Q&A WITH SIRRI SÜREYYA ÖNDER ON KURDISH PEACE TALKS
'We come from a long past, and we are thinking about a long future'
We spoke with Sırrı Süreyya Önder, one of the key figures in discussions on resolving the Kurdish question, about often-overlooked aspects of peace processes.
Photo from Sırrı Süreyya Önder's personal archive showing him in parliament.
What is Sırrı Süreyya Önder’s hometown? Is he Kurdish or Alevi? Which films did he make? These are among the most frequently asked questions about him online. But his story is far too deep and complex to be captured by search engines.
His life, which began in 1962 in Adıyaman, has been a journey from long-distance driving to years in prison, from cinema to politics. He collected stories from every corner of Turkey, bringing them both to the screen and to the public squares. When he entered politics, he didn’t stop telling stories—this time, raising his voice to declare that peace and a shared future were possible. During the previous resolution process to the Kurdish question, it was he who read the letter of peace to millions on Mar 21, 2015.
Sırrı Süreyya Önder is now on the road again: “We are traveling for peace with our hearts in our hands.”
As one of the most prominent figures in the discussions on a solution to the Kurdish issue, Önder was part of the İmralı delegation, which visited PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan three times, culminating in Öcalan’s historic call for the disarmament of the militant group on Feb 27.
We spoke with Sırrı Süreyya Önder, a man of long journeys and weighty words, about what is often overlooked in peace processes—and the current spirit of this one.
Meeting with Öcalan again
How does it feel for you to be in the delegation that met with Abdullah Öcalan? You saw him after years. What went through your mind at first?
I would like to answer this question by adding a personal context.
For me, pioneering politicians are, among other things, people who are in search of the truth, and this truth is public. In politics, it is not the position of the person, but rather the content of what is being expressed, spoken, and what is to be solved that attracts my attention. In other words, the goal or objective is primary for me. What we are talking about is social peace. For this, even small opinions, or opinions that may be simple for some people, are as valuable as values. Issues such as the Kurdish question and peace have always been issues that have been thought about but blocked at the point of feeling.
Feeling is understood as representing something or an idea. At the same time, when feeling is limited to a conceptless vision and confined to an emotional sphere, it is either left to one side or rendered devoid of content. In this sense, Öcalan is reconsidering a book that has almost lost its balance, the Kurds and Turks, and I am witnessing it, and the first thing that comes to my mind is that this is a historic moment and opportunity. We come from a long past and we are thinking about a long future, and from this a sense of a human race that is alive, equal, just and free... An effort to regenerate a dried branch. This is what goes through my mind...
Members of the Imrali delegation, Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş on Feb 27, 2025. (DEM Party)
What was the mood of the delegation on the way to the talks? What thoughts occupied you along the way? And under a downpour of criticism, anxiety and reproach.
When we can't solve something, we feel frustrated. We have an attitude of dementia regarding some social and political problems. We take some medicines, but walking (suggestion, solution and promise) is as important as medicines. We are on the road for the second time... This is what distinguishes us from the ‘idle doers’: Moving. As we move, our brains and hearts open up, our perceptions increase, our level of consciousness rises, and we stand against spiritual erosion. We want to walk and of course someone will want to stop us.
In this sense, I can say about politics what Schopenhauer once said about philosophy: “Politics is a monster with many heads, each of which speaks in a different language... A politician is like a ruffian who shouts at night and disturbs people...” We were on the road, and the only map we had was İmralı... This was where the road led, and our ideal of a politician was someone who was always on the road... We were on the road again with our comrades... It is important to be understood by everyone, but it is more important to understand, develop and transform ourselves on this road. The road in front of us and the road behind us were both ours. Moreover, there were thousands of years behind us and Öcalan was weaving a rope to get out of a well that had been deepened by the rulers for years...
Me and Pervin Buldan were talking about these things on this journey.
'The angel of history'
As someone who was involved in the first process and is now once again part of this new phase, how would you define the struggle for peace in terms of a human lifetime?
Fighting for peace makes you young, and if the results are achieved, you are happy. There is a metaphor we inherited from Walter Benjamin called the Angel of History. This angel's face is turned towards the past... What appears to us as a chain of events, he sees as a single catastrophe, a catastrophe that keeps piling up the ruins and throwing them at his feet. The angel wants to stay here a little longer, to bring the dead back to life, to put the broken pieces back together. This is what I want to do in this three-day world before I go away like this angel, and I am happy to be in the company of those who want to do it. The angel cannot do it because he is called to heaven and there is no death in his life. I, on the other hand, want to see peace... The road I am walking on tells me to walk more. Like in the folk song.
Life is but a breath...
Every person tries to make sense of their life. It's nice to make sense of it with peace and freedom. It suits human beings. Sometimes a person exceeds his/her lifetime. We owe it to those who dedicated their lives to this before us.
His daughter Ceren visiting Önder at the Kocaeli Type-F High Security Prison, where he was incarcerated for about 10 months starting in late 2018.
What is the difference between your feelings during the first Resolution Process and today? How has there been a change between your hopes then and your expectations today? If you were to make a comparison, what would you say was harder/easier or different?
I mentioned the angel of history, I don't want to repeat myself; I have already expressed my feelings. The difference between two periods or two processes is related to the change of the parties, and difference already means change and every change produces movement; each party determines the difference in its own way, maybe we can call it a period of comparison and attribution of meanings. The ultimate solution is to eliminate the differences and reach a solution...
'Trying to cleanse ourselves from the sins of ages'
Looking back, is there anything you wish you could have done differently?
The only door to expressions like “we could have done it differently” or “it didn't happen” is guilt, and when you walk through this door, you are greeted by two things: Regret and sinfulness. There is nothing I regret and take the sin upon myself. We are trying to be cleansed from the sins of ages. In this matter, there is something that we see in history, philosophy and art: Forgiveness and absolution. The aim is to make the pain disappear... As long as the pain exists, the punishment and the crime grows. We have tried, we are trying again, and because we have given our lives to this, I have no regrets. I worry about when and how much we can do...
What were the most difficult or lonely moments in this process?
There is nothing that makes me feel lonely except stupidity. It is hard to deal with that. For example, Nevşin Mengü wanted me to be sent to Iran or Saudi Arabia for an internship to experience reaction. And she demanded this in a very lumpen language. Ertuğrul Özkök was obsessed with my smiley face and wrote three articles. He said that I constituted a hierarchy among those whose rights had been violated in the struggle for rights, where he never moved from his place even for a single day. I think it was my smile he was obsessed with. One day I will send him photos of me smiling while undergoing surgery and going to prison. He can listen to those who know me, he can read from those who write their memoirs, I am a person who does not forget to smile even during torture and death fasts. Sometimes I have difficulty in the face of this and similar stupidity.
What do you do in such times?
I anchor in the harbor of calm and courage. Because there is a rocky bottom with a very solid composition. The rest is the judgment of history. We will see together or with a few missing people.
*Önder, Pervin Buldan and Ahmet Türk. (DEM Party)
Peace
Should peace be seen only as a negotiation process, or is peace also a change in social memory and emotions?
It is necessary to see peace as peace...
What do you think are the biggest misconceptions in such processes?
It is necessary to avoid erroneous information, dogmatic statements such as this issue cannot be solved. The biggest mistakes are erroneous information and some criteria used to categorize erroneous information, which does not lead to an idea. Now an idea has emerged through Öcalan and we are all at the stage of this idea becoming flesh and blood. It is patience and time that matures the idea...
When you think about how the previous process ended, what is the possibility that worries you the most?
I don't want to think about negativity and bad endings, and it is not appropriate to talk about anxiety now. Fear and anxiety is when there is no idea, but now there is an idea.
What was the psychological atmosphere in your meetings with Devlet Bahçeli? Was he sincere when he spoke to you, or did you feel more of a political distance? And I am also curious about this, you were criticized for “praising” him in the Habertürk broadcast, what do you think about that?
Criticism is a serious thing; it is not necessary to be upset when it happens, but when it does not. Criticism is necessary to answer a question, to solve a problem, and it is even a guide, a map for the walking I have been talking about; as long as it is consistent, appropriate and adequate... Mr. Bahçeli shattered many taboos with a flick of his wrist. Let us remember what these are. He said that this republic is also the republic of the Kurds, and banished the denial of ‘Kurdish origin’ from language and official discourse. He invited Mr. Ocalan to the Parliament. He used the concept of “Founding Leader”. Most importantly, he said, “Let's build the future together.” I owe a debt of gratitude to everyone who said half of this.
As much as peace is a political matter for you...
Let me finish the question with one sentence: Peace is everyone living their own life... (TY/VK)
bianet LGBTİ+ haberleri editörü. "1 Mayıs 1977 Kayıplarını Yakınları Anlatıyor/1 Mayıs 1977 ve Cezasızlık" dosyasını hazırladı. Ege Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Felsefe bölümü mezunu. 2019 yılından...
bianet LGBTİ+ haberleri editörü. "1 Mayıs 1977 Kayıplarını Yakınları Anlatıyor/1 Mayıs 1977 ve Cezasızlık" dosyasını hazırladı. Ege Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Felsefe bölümü mezunu. 2019 yılından beri "Küba" isimli köpekle ev arkadaşı.
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