Page 56 - bneMagazine March 2023 oil discount

56 I Southeast Europe bne March 2023
Not even a nosebleed – how Turkish town was successfully built to withstand 1999 earthquake
bne IntelIiNews
It’s not as if Turkey didn’t have ample evidence that buildings constructed in line with scientifically planned earthquake-resistance measures can be extremely effective in saving the lives of their occupants in the event of a catastrophic quake.
And that evidence has been staring the authorities in the face for more than 23 years, ever since the 7.6-magnitude Marmara Earthquake hit Turkey on August 17, 1999.
The 37-second earthquake, also known as the Izmit Earthquake, struck near the city of Izmit in Kocaeli Province in the early hours, causing from 17,000 to 18,000 deaths. Yet, despite being close to the epicentre of the quake in Golcuk, on the Gulf of Izmit – and despite the natural disaster causing tens of thousands of buildings to collapse – there was one settlement that was hardly affected.
BBC Turkish went on to report how in Tavancil, a district of Kocaeli’s Dilovasi district, it was said that no-one “even had a nosebleed” caused by the quake. And it was not down to extraordinary luck or exceptional factors, it was simply the result of acting in line with the recommendations of scientists.
Focusing on the BBC investigation of Tavancil’s remarkable outcome, on the 23rd anniversary of the Marmara Earthquake last year, Diken recounted the role of Salih Gun, who in 1989 won the presidency of the newly-formed municipality that included the settlement.
Gun, who died with covid last year, consulted with scientists at Kocaeli University on a zoning plan for the locality after he was elected to office. His attention was drawn to how the town was located on the North Anatolian Fault Line.
In line with the conclusions underpinning the zoning plan, Gun, despite much local indignation, went on to refuse permission for the construction of any buildings higher than three floors. Locals told how even a permit applications for attics above this height were refused.
The rest is history.
Yet it’s a history, hideously ignored.
By the morning of February 14, it was known that around 38,000 deaths caused by the February 6 earthquakes that hit southern Turkey and northern Turkey were already confirmed, and there were fears that the final toll could be double that figure or even worse.
If Salih Gun were around today, he would not be impressed by the effort to investigate and prosecute those responsible. For the many officials who took bribes in return for regulatory amnesties that enabled builders to get around earthquake construction codes or for turning a blind eye to infringements of those codes, they need only need a trip to Tavancil and a mirror to hunt down their quarry.
www.bne.eu
growing difficulty in Turkish-US relations is Turkey’s request to the US to acquire F-16 fighter jet aircraft.
A group of bipartisan US senators is proposing that any such sale should be tied to Turkey’s openness to accepting Sweden, and Finland, into Nato.
On February 2, Democrat Senator Jeanne Sheheen and Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who are co-chairs of the Senate Nato Observer Group, drafted a letter to President Joe Biden saying that “Congress cannot consider future support for Türkiye, including the sale of F-16 fighter jets, until Türkiye completes ratification of the accession protocols [for Sweden and Finland].” This letter was followed by 25 colleagues supporting this decision.
US Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland last week gave assurances to Congress that the Biden administration has made it clear to Turkey that if it does not budge on the Nato expansion then F-16 upgrades will not happen nor will any additional sales of F-16 fighter jets.
“We have made the same point to our Turkish allies ... that we need this Congress’s support moving forward for the security enhancements that we think that they need, as allies, F16s, some of them [aircraft] are old, but that this Congress is likely to look far more favourably on that after ratification,” said Nulan.
With the Nato expansion dispute dragging on, more and more voices in Western media opposed to Turkey’s strongman, Erdogan, are starting to make themselves heard.
Columnist for The Observer Simon Tisdall on February 5 attacked Erdogan under the heading: Turkey’s two-faced ‘sultan’ is no friend of the west. It’s time to play hardball.”
The BBC, looking at issues such as Turkey’s acute cost of living crisis, reported on February 5: “There is a lot
at stake in the upcoming elections, with opposition figures arguing that it will be a choice between increasing autocracy or democracy.