Footage of Erdo臒an campaigning in local elections in 2019 show him telling audiences that he had 鈥渞emoved building standards-related headaches for hundreds of thousands of citizens鈥� with his amnesty policy, according to online news service businessinsider.com.
A BBC report last week quoted Pelin P谋nar Giritlio臒lu, Istanbul head of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers saying that up to 75,000 buildings across the affected earthquake zone in southern Turkey had been granted amnesties.
On payment of a fee, these amnesties grant legal exemption for structures built without the necessary building safety certificates.
The videos show Erdo臒an speaking at several different locations and repeating his boast. F
In the video Erdo臒an says: "We have solved the problems of 144,556 Kahramanmara艧 citizens with the amnesty".聽
The president made similar speeches in the cities of Hatay and Malatya, both of which were badly affected by the earthquake. Erdo臒an had previously acknowledged the role played by building standards in earthquake disasters. In 2013, according to businessinsider, he tweeted that 鈥渂uildings kill, not earthquakes鈥�.
The amnesties are often referred to as 鈥榸oning peace鈥�, a long-standing Turkish policy whereby, on payment of a fine, structures built without planning permission or not up to code are given retrospective permits. According to businessinsider.com the most recent iteration of the policy came in 2018, under Erdo臒an鈥檚 presidency.
Bu臒ra G枚k莽e, deputy secretary general of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, was quoted by Duvar saying that 294,165 buildings in the earthquake-affected areas had taken advantage of the amnesties.
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