News Center- Two years have passed since the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes that struck February 6, 2023 at 04:17 AM, with the epicenter in Pazarcık and then Elbistan, Kahramanmaraş. The earthquakes affected 11 cities in Türkiye and Northern Kurdistan. Those who killed in the earthquakes were commemorated in Xarpêt (Elazığ), Meletî (Malatya), Mereş (Maraş), Dîlok (Antep), Hatay, Semsûr (Adıyaman), Amed (Diyarbakır) and Riha (Urfa) on Wednesday night.

Hatay

A march was held in Hatay to commemorate the victims of the earthquakes with the participation of thousands of the quake survivors.

‘The AKP will give an account to people’

Holding a banner reading, “No forget, no forgive”, the marchers chanted slogans such as “Can anyone hear my voice?”, “Not a disaster, but a massacre”, “We will hold the murderers accountable” and “The AKP will give an account to people”.

Thousands gathered at the Yunus Emre Park in the city and protested the AKP government. At 04:17 AM, the marchers turned their phones' flashlights on and chanted the “No forget, no forgive” slogan and then observed a complete silence for 105 seconds.

The march was also participated by many politicians such as Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Co-chair Tülay Hatimoğulları, Labour Party (EMEP) Chair Seyit Aslan, Socialist Re-establishment Party (SYKP) Chair Mertcan Titiz and Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) Spokesperson Sera Kadıgil.

Quake survivors detained

After the march, people gathered on Saray Street and protested the government and the governor of Hatay; however, police attacked them and detained many.

Defne

A commemoration ceremony was also held at the Uğur Mumcu Square in Hatay’s Defne district on Wednesday night. The quake survivors left candles, photos of her relatives and carnations on a banner reading, “We have not forgotten, we will not forget”.

At the commemoration, Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK) Chair Ayfer Koçak made a speech, saying the night of February 6 was the “darkest and longest night” and calling on people to be in solidarity with each other to heal their wounds.

Semsûr

The Semsûr Labor and Democracy Platform held a torchlight march from the old state hospital to the clock tower in the city with the participation of DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan, Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK) Co-chair Ahmet Karagöz and representatives of many political parties and NGOs. The marchers held a banner reading, “We have not forgotten, we will not forget”.

Adana

The Association for Solidarity with Quake Survivors and organizations for labor and democracy organized a commemoration ceremony in front of the Alpargün Apartment, a 14-storey apartment that collapsed in the earthquake in the Güzelyalı District of Adana's Çukurova district. The commemoration was held with the participation of quake survivors, representatives of many political parties and NGOs.

Meleti

A commemoration ceremony was held by the February 6 Platform in front of the Hayat Site, which collapsed in the earthquake, at 04:17 AM with the participation of many political parties such as DEM Party and the Republican People’s Party (CHP), and representatives of NGOs.

Amed

The Amed City Protection and Solidarity Platform, the Disaster Management and Solidarity Platform (DMS) and the Amed Labor and Democracy Platform held a commemoration ceremony in front of Serin 2 Apartment, which collapsed in the earthquake on February 6, 2023.

“We are angry, we will not forget,” said Yıldız Ok Orak of the Disaster Management and Solidarity Platform (DMS).

Doğan Hatun, Co-mayor of Diyarbakır, said in his speech that Amed was left to its fate on the day of the earthquake.