Before the expected Istanbul earthquake, IMM formed the 'Earthquake Science Board', which brought together experts in the field. IMM President, who came together with scientists at AKOM Ekrem İmamoğlu“I say to myself by looking in the mirror a little bit; 'It is enough'. 'It is enough'; I say to my citizens, I say to the government, I tell others, and together we have to make them say 'Enough is enough'. In this respect, we say that it is imperative that we make a presentation, a call to the society and institutions, with a study for the whole process, such as ensuring that even those who say 'why am I not there' contribute to the review of all we have done, the expansion of the tables for the direction of the scientific mind and the environment." used the phrases. Earthquake Science Board, which will use IPA's Florya campus as a base, will complete its work by February 25. The result will be shared with the public by İmamoğlu.
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) President Ekrem İmamoğlumet with the Scientific Committee, which will conduct a study on the possible Istanbul earthquake, which came to the agenda once again after two major earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş. To the meeting held at AKOM in İSKİ campus; Prof. dr. Naci Gorur, Prof. Dr. Haluk Eyidogan, Prof. Tarik Sengul, Prof. Okan Tuysuz, Prof. Dr. Alper İlki (online), Prof. Dr. Haluk Ozener, Prof. Dr. Seval Sözen, Prof. Dr. Himmet Karaman, Prof. Dr. Eser Çaktı, Turgut Erdem Ergin, Nasuh Mahruki, Prof. Dr. Alp Erinç Yeldan, Prof. Dr. Ejder Yildirim, Assoc. Dr. Seda Kundak, Prof. Dr. Kayıhan Pala (online), Prof. Ahmet Cevdet Yalciner, Prof. Alper Ünlü and Prof. Dr. Murat Şeker and IMM bureaucrats attended.
“FOR A PERSPECTIVE TO SAY 'NOW ENOUGH'…”
Reminding that they were matched with Hatay province by AFAD after the earthquake disaster, İmamoğlu said, “As Istanbul, we took the responsibility to coordinate the cooperation with AFAD. For example; Ankara in Kahramanmaraş, İzmir in Osmaniye, Mersin in Adıyaman. These were the cities described by AFAD,” he said. Expressing his thanks to the scientists and experts who participated in the meeting, İmamoğlu said:
“Our partnership is very, very important. Frankly, as of the moment of the earthquake, we were here from 05.00:2 in the morning and we managed the process here. While carrying out this process, one of the first 3-XNUMX instructions that I immediately told my friends was that, by determining the final evaluations of our scientists, with whom we both work continuously and from time to time, we receive consultancy on some issues and cooperate through some of our subjects, and make it to the public in the coming days. Let's make a briefing. We will both say 'enough' to ourselves and say 'enough' to the citizens, with a point of view that we will talk about Istanbul and say again to the society, our people and our fellow citizens, in the most serious and stimulating way, 'enough is enough' over Istanbul. He goes through so many things one-on-one that one inevitably has to talk like that. I conveyed that we needed to quickly carry out a study that would express these feelings, but while expressing that, it could offer a very strong and determined explanation with a very strong scientific basis.”
“WE HAVE A CITY FULL OF ERRORS WITH SO MUCH …”
Pointing out that they identified some points in the earthquake that shook all of Turkey, İmamoğlu said, “Okay, we have a shortage in many places, but this is like litmus paper. In the earthquake issue, which we have been talking about for 24 years, we have created an urbanization full of so much negligence, even ignorance, and even so much mistakes in new constructions that when we look at refugees, 10-4 million of what we call 4,5 million today is almost the same as that earthquake. settled to the present. In other words, 40-45 percent of them settled here, but we could neither recover the old nor make the new properly. In other words, it cannot be an environment in which it responds, like putting a finger in so many blind eyes. So I'm really on fire? We have seen that while the zoning policies, which act with different thoughts, not the fault lines, create urban development, a process is experienced with lines that do not care about science, which is not at all pleasant.”
“WE ENCOUNTERED WITH A LOT OF FAILURE”
Emphasizing that there are losses in many structures in which state institutions operate, İmamoğlu said, “I have fallen into a very troubled position and I have seen a tremendous loss of capacity in these institutions. We were met with a lot of anger. We have been in that area several times during the 99 earthquake. Which we were in the early days. To be worse than that time today, it was very painful for me. However, it should have been better. “It should have been much, much better.” Complaining about not being able to get together with the state officials he encountered in the field, İmamoğlu said, “For example, we cannot meet with a responsible person. He is afraid to be with you. It's name is valid, it's name is something else. Or, as if connecting it to standard sentences, when we enter some environments where the Chairman is also present, he tells such a way that; It is as if there is no death there, all the debris has been removed. We're talking day 2, day three. 'There is a crew in every wreckage.' No bro, we came here that way. So we're not in 20 percent yet. A bureaucracy that thinks it has to make a presentation rather than the 'what can we do, what should we do' part. Disconnected from the right.”
“LOCAL GOVERNMENT REFORM IS NEEDED”
Noting that his aim was not to make himself innocent, İmamoğlu said, "I saw that we had to find a solution if anyone was guilty wherever or in any way, including us politically, including the government." This shows us that there is a need for local government reform and also shows that we need a governance model. The consequences of such centralization of disaster management and ignoring so much civil society are very serious. People watch in amazement like this.” Saying, “I would like to return to Istanbul here,” İmamoğlu said, “We are doing a lot. We have a lot of work. Of course, I will not go into the details of these. But these processes, which I witnessed, also led me to an incredible internal showdown. I'm in the 'how to do more' part. Which was the instruction we gave to my friends on the first day. That's why we invited you and came together. At this point, we aim to do more, but in a way, to do the right thing. I look in the mirror and say to myself, 'Enough is enough'. 'It is enough'; I say to my citizens, I say to the government, I tell others, and together we have to make them say 'Enough is enough'. In this respect, we say that it is imperative that we make a presentation, a call to the society and institutions, with a study for the whole process, such as ensuring that even those who say 'why am I not there' contribute to the review of all we have done, the expansion of the tables for the direction of the scientific mind and the environment." used the phrases.
“WE WILL NOT WAIT THE CHARACTER OF DICKING OUR SACK ON OURSELVES”
Emphasizing that they will not give up on their character of screwing the sack on themselves, İmamoğlu said:
“We suggested that an Earthquake Supreme Council be working with a system in Istanbul in 2019 and 2020. We suggested this to the Minister with great effort. 'Good, very good, very nice…' But we were greeted with silence. I pushed this for months. My description is as follows: A citizen entering through a door, a delegation or a site management, answers with many elements without 'but', 'but', without political maneuver; will get clear. If they have excessive expectations, all their hopes will be dashed there. His only hope will be: I have to renovate this building. Here are the conditions for my renewal. This is what the government has given me. I need to take advantage of them and renew them. Otherwise, the conflict of the citizens on the field is 90 percent. Therefore, whether they like me or not, come to me; 'President, it's ruining us X our institution, the administration of the government, the ministry, etc.' I know that in fact, there are those who have given what even I cannot give, still demanding something else. Transparency may be lacking, communication may be lacking; I keep it separate. But I think that this should not be a field of gaining political benefit. That's why I found it important to convene this committee, as I believe that such a supreme committee would be very good for Istanbul.”
RESULTS WILL BE SHARED WITH THE PUBLIC AFTER 25 FEBRUARY
Taking the floor after İmamoğlu, the scientists listed the things to be taken before, during and after the earthquake in their field of expertise. Speaking again at the end of the meeting, which lasted approximately 1,5 hours, İmamoğlu thanked the scientists and experts for their contributions. "I also know that this meeting is a start," said İmamoğlu, "Because we want to share with the public the main purpose, the preparations you will make until the 25th (February), the meeting on the 25th, and the summary that comes out of it right after. The summary here will guide us. Sharing this roadmap with the public, assuming our own responsibilities, reminding them of the responsibilities of some institutions, and at the same time, we have already taken action or we will announce that we will take action on some issues that you describe as trust and that you suggest us to take action." Pointing out that the atmosphere is suitable for this statement, İmamoğlu said, “We should not miss this. Let's give the citizens a sense of yes. But let us remind you of your responsibility. So I say it like this: Get a little scared, citizen. He should be afraid. We are not talking about an unfounded fear. As institutions, as managers, we should be afraid too. Let's take our guard and fulfill our responsibility accordingly. Even if we will not bring it, the citizens should do what is necessary. We're on that side of it," he said.
“I FORCE FOUND A GOVERNOR WITH A MINISTER IN A ROOM”
Emphasizing that he cares about transparency and communication in this sense, İmamoğlu said, “I have experienced many times in my own duty process that there will be no harm from this. In other words, I have not seen any harm in transparency until today. If there is a deficiency, if it has emerged, it also has an incredible contribution to us and the society. The biggest problem is there. Maybe we can start it from here," he said. Giving an example from his visit to the AFAD Center in Hatay, the earthquake zone, İmamoğlu concluded his speech with the following words:
“In one of my last conversations, I was able to find a governor and minister in one room by force. I mean, in a building, we're going from place to place by force, we don't want to be interviewed, and so on. I forcibly found a governor, with a minister in a room. We even talked a little before, it was crowded. Then I pretended to leave, closed the door, turned around and talked to the two of them one on one. In other words, by questioning myself, questioning them, telling what I've been through, saying, 'Why is this happening? We have an incredible effort at speaking, let me tell you. If we have any shortcomings, we are trying to make up for it. I want this presentation in February to provide that too. I want the language to be like that. I've said it over and over: We may have a quarrel, but when something like this happens, whatever the rank, I want to run at my call. I mean wherever, and I will do that too. Please do not doubt it. I do not want a single medal in this regard. I don't intend to get a single medal. This is a great fear for us, a great worry, a great anxiety. On behalf of our country, we can either go down in history as a black mark over some things we couldn't do, or we can go down in history as people who really set a very special line for our country. Good wishes and good memories are enough for us.”
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