Özgür Özel: Government’s Claims About Wildfire Management Are the Biggest Lie of My Life
Özgür Özel, leader of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), strongly criticized the government’s handling of wildfires during a press conference in Ankara today. He dismissed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent claims of having “access to the world’s most advanced firefighting equipment” as baseless, calling them the “biggest lie of my life.”
Özel detailed critical shortcomings, stating that night vision-equipped helicopters were unable to approach the fires due to the intense blaze and could only operate from hundreds of meters away. He also criticized the government for maintaining a fleet of 14 private jets for officials while neglecting the outdated firefighting aircraft.
The CHP leader accused the government of obstructing emergency response efforts by failing to approve the hiring of 2,300 new firefighters, a measure previously proposed. Responding to claims that metropolitan municipalities were not doing enough, Özel clarified, “Municipalities legally cannot maintain firefighting aircraft, and their previous helicopters were sold off.”
Later in the press conference, Özel addressed the government’s proposal to form a “Terror-Free Turkey Special Commission” in parliament, outlining his party’s conditions for participation. He demanded either balanced representation from all parties or a two-thirds majority requirement for decisions.
The opposition leader insisted the commission should focus only on specific issues, including democracy, civil rights, and the release of political prisoners, rejecting any attempts to discuss constitutional changes or unrelated topics.
Regarding the government’s claim of influencing Germany’s decision to lift the Eurofighter jet sale ban, Özel stated, “Germany’s Foreign Ministry explicitly said this decision followed an official request from CHP and a letter from jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.”
