28.01.2025 19:11
The General President of the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP), Erkan Baş, made a statement regarding the hotel disaster in Bolu, saying, "The demonization of our professional chambers and their becoming a target for the government is not only to intimidate the opposition. One of the main reasons for this is to ensure that this plunder, looting, and lack of oversight can continue sustainably. What we experienced in Bolu is directly related to Gezi for this reason."
TİP General Chairman Erkan Baş stated, "The demonization of our professional chambers and making them a target of the government is not only to intimidate the opposition, but one of the most important reasons for this is to ensure that this plunder, looting, and lack of oversight can continue sustainably. What we experienced in Bolu is directly related to Gezi. That’s why they have now started new moves to demonize Gezi again," he said.
ERKAN BAŞ'S STRIKING "BOLU" STATEMENT TİP General Chairman Erkan Baş made statements regarding the fire disaster that occurred at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu Kartalkaya during a press conference held in the Parliament. He noted that there could be various disasters, but the politics and political policies of the government turn disasters into catastrophes, stating that another very painful event occurred in Bolu.
Baş said, "We say this with shame; after a few hours of showing off, during which they did not even bother to postpone their own party congresses, the ministers moved towards the scene. We are facing an evil that hides the dimensions of the disaster we experienced for hours just to continue this show, with the participation of a so-called opposition member of parliament from the past. Since it is known that many places, political circles, and members of parliament were reached in the first hours, we think that the data showing the severity of the massacre had already reached the ministers. However, they minimized these and continued their congresses. After that, the minister went and made a statement that was as shameful as one could feel while watching a person. A person shows sadness, makes the other party feel that they are experiencing pain. The entire speech was based on the idea that he was irresponsible and innocent. Today, we need to discuss this in detail," he expressed.
TİP General Chairman Erkan Baş "WHAT WILL THEY DO IN THOSE 10 DAYS?" Erkan Baş stated that the institution responsible for issuing the tourism operation certificate for the hotel where the massacre took place is directly the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and therefore the main responsibility lies with this institution. He said, "Of course, the owner of the building and the managers of the hotel also have direct responsibilities. But with such clear provisions, and with regulations clearly defined, the Minister of Interior says, 'We will find it in 10 days, we will complete the investigation.' Weren't you the one who said everything would be very fast in this presidential system? When it suits you, you open investigations against people before they even leave the podium, and when it suits you, you have a judiciary that makes decisions at jet speed. What will they do in those 10 days? The Communications Presidency will determine the strategy and give the necessary instructions to their loyal writers, media, and trolls.
"THE MINISTRY OF TOURISM IS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE" After the necessary public opinion is created, they will return. I ask, has a tourism certificate been issued here? Yes, it has. Did the minister take this and put it on his site for advertising? Yes, he did. Look, the minister is selling directly. The minister is making money from this business. So, is this place subject to the regulation on the inspection rights of tourism investments, businesses, and establishments? Yes. According to this regulation, we are facing a table where there are very clear articles directly responsible to the Ministry of Tourism. The moment the ministry gives a certificate here, it is also jointly responsible to the citizen. It is not enough that the company owned by the minister is selling the beds here. The person sitting in the minister's chair is personally making money from this. We are dying so that he can make more money...
We must say this: the AKP government is the one that removed the fire inspection process there so that hotels can operate more comfortably and make more money... Wherever there is a massacre, wherever many people lose their lives due to negligence and wrongdoings, all of these have direct and very strong relations with the government. We see that the names are on the incentive lists of Grand Kartal Tourism Inc. Again, a candidate for a murderer company has been fed directly by the government through incentives."
"WHAT WE EXPERIENCED IN BOLU IS RELATED TO GEZI" Erkan Baş stated that all these lack of oversight and negligence bring about facing a new massacre every day, saying, "The fundamental issue is this: these places, mines, hotels are generally areas that are evading public oversight so that they can be exploited more easily, so that workers can be subjected to intense exploitation for longer hours. They are evading public oversight. They are leaving them to the mercy of the free market. To put it more clearly, they are leaving these places to the mercy of money. The demonization of our professional chambers and making them a target of the government is not only to intimidate the opposition, but one of the most important reasons for this is to ensure that this plunder, looting, and lack of oversight can continue sustainably. The arrest of Fırat Öpözdemir, a member of the Istanbul Bar Association's board of directors, on the same days is not a coincidence. The fact that Can Atalay, who is the lawyer of the Chamber of Architects, is still being held captive, and that Tayfun Kahraman, the former branch president of the Chamber of City Planners, is still inside completes this picture. What we experienced in Bolu is directly related to Gezi. That’s why they have now started new moves to demonize Gezi again," he said.