Turkey starts housing construction in disaster regions: Erdoğan

The government has started the construction of housing projects in disasters areas, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sept. 10.

"Work on compensating the damages of our citizens in disaster areas continues. We started to build new buildings. We will finish them in one year. We will hand over the buildings to the rightful owners," he stated, speaking at a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) meeting in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş.

The government met all the needs of the citizens, from basic foodstuffs to sheltering necessities, he said.

"Our state is no longer the state of the '80s and '90s that fell under the rubble. Its facilities have also improved," Erdoğan stated.

"Today, there is the great Turkish Republic with its goals," he said.

"Western countries exposed to similar disasters were not able to reach disaster areas for days, but Turkey did not leave its citizens alone," he said.

Turkey managed this period with a "success that will set an example to the world," Erdoğan added.

He criticized opposition parties for their attitude toward the government's work after recent disasters in Turkey.

"Our only concern is that the opposition makes it a tool for discussions of daily politics instead of supporting these works. So much so that at a time when our citizens were in trouble for their lives and property, opposition parties sought exploitation," the president said.

The opposition's effort to "politicize every issue has been exposed here as well," he added.

Erdoğan suggested that the opposition parties use "lies, slander, and provocation," because they are not able to convince the nation for votes.

"You will not be successful. Our nation sees puppetry very well. Our...