The forest fires that have raged in Turkey since July 28th have not yet been extinguished.

But because there is growing criticism of the government due to the sometimes devastating devastation, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has now started a relief offensive.

In an interview broadcast on Wednesday evening, he denied allegations that his government was not prepared for the forest fires.

Rather, he praised the state's action against the fires as successful and accused the opposition of spreading “terrorism”.

Rainer Hermann

Editor in politics.

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Erdogan named the banned Kurdish Workers' Party PKK, the largest opposition party CHP and the campaigns in the social media, but not climate change, as responsible for the forest fires and the great damage.

The opposition acts "terrorist"

Erdogan, who only traveled to the affected regions on the fourth day after the first fires, said Turkey is currently fighting the worst forest fires in its history.

Their number has increased to 187, 15 still lasted.

He described the forest fires as a new global threat that was not very different from Covid-19 and was similar to a terrorist threat.

The opposition to his rule is not a political one, but a "terrorist" one, claimed Erdogan.

"The terror of the opposition" sweeps through the country.

Erdogan alleged that some of the people arrested on suspicion of arson had links with the PKK. The security forces have a close eye on the PKK, which is also planning attacks against the forests. Last year she was responsible for the fact that the forest fires had tripled compared to previous years.

Erdogan also blamed the CHP mayors of the hardest hit provincial capitals, such as Antalya, Mugla, Denizli and Aydin.

While the central government was doing its job in extinguishing the forest fires, the local administrations failed.

It is their job and not the Ankaras to protect residential areas from the fire.

A well-known pro-government journalist had previously spoken of a "dirty alliance" between the PKK and the CHP.

The Turkish president also attacked social media.

Erdogan accused them of enabling the PKK and the movement of the preacher Fethullah Gülen, which is also classified as a terrorist organization.

Social media would offend Turkey

Even before the President's interview, the Turkish General Prosecutor's Office had launched an investigation against those actors on social media who were calling for international support under the hashtag #HelpTurkey. Ankara only asked the EU for help on Sunday. Another issue was the inadequate equipment of the state emergency services. Such campaigns created “worry, fear and panic” in the population, they instigated “hatred and hostility”, reported the state news agency Anadolu, citing the public prosecutor's office. Further investigations were also ongoing into allegations of insulting officials, insulting the president and degrading the Turkish state.

The CHP responded indignantly to Erdogan's allegations. Its deputy chairman Seyit Tosun accused the government of incompetence. Former CHP candidate in the 2018 presidential election, Muharrem Ince, wrote on Twitter that Erdogan could not shirk his responsibilities. After all, not a single fire-fighting aircraft had been purchased in his 19-year rule. The extent of the forest fires is a consequence of an incompetent forest policy.