Akşener to Erdoğan: 'You cannot receive forgiveness'

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İYİ (Good) Party chairperson Meral Akşener addressed today the parliamentary group meeting of her party. "You cannot receive forgiveness while enjoying yourself with all your ill-gotten gains," she told President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who had asked for forgiveness from the earthquake victims. 

"Graves were built in the name of houses"

Meral Akşener spared a large part of her speech for the consequences of the February 6 earthquakes.

"Everybody who took part in the building of graves in the name of houses for our people is responsible. Those who could not go to help our people for 72 hours after the earthquake, who could not get organized, who could not take a decision scared of the Palace, those who fight with civil society, those who block the internet and sent police to people's doors are all responsible," the opposition politician said.

Akşener pointed at Erdoğan as the main person to blame since he had brought "this foolish system that is now hanging over our heads."

She continued by stating that those who feel responsibility will either resign or take responsibility. Instead, President Erdoğan blames the people for every disaster that the country faces, she added. 

"You cannot receive forgiveness"

Meral Akşener responded to Erdoğan asking for forgiveness in Adıyaman the day before, saying they "were not able to carry out work as efficiently as they would like."

She said, "You cannot get away with a theater in a safeguarded tent. If you really want to receive forgiveness, you have to ask it from the father who waited for 15 holding his child's hand waiting for a crane to come, watching the child die. You have to ask the forgiveness of those who listened to the mothers under the debris in the collapsed buildings that were built by those who had the agricultural lands zoned for housing."

Akşener also slammed the Red Crescent for selling tents to a charity organization.

It was revealed after a journalist reported that the Red Crescent of Türkiye had sold AHBAB, a charity organization tents on the third day after the double earthquake on February 6 for 46 million lira (2.4 million US dollars).

Both parties confirmed the sale after the report, and while Kerem Kınık, the head of the Red Crescent first stood behind the sale, he then claimed that he was not informed and criticized it. 

Sinan Ateş murder

In her speech, Akşener also mentioned the killing of former Grey Wolves leader Sinan Ateş. Reminding that 61 days passed since the murder, İYİ Party leader accused President Erdoğan of intervening with the judiciary and delaying the judicial process.

Sinan Ateş, the ex-president of Grey Wolves, an ultranationalist group affiliated with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), was killed in Ankara on December 30 in an armed attack.

Thousands attended the funeral in Bursa's Great Mosque, on December 31.

MHP did not express condolence, and no officials from the party attended the funeral.

(AÖ/PE)