TURKEY: A Tragic Hotel Fire & more – 28th Jan 2025

Merhaba from BA! This is the Rorshok Turkey Update from the 28th of January twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Turkey.

Unfortunately, we’ve got to start with some tragic news. On Tuesday the 21st, a fire broke out at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the northern Bolu mountains, killing seventy-six people and injuring dozens. The blaze started in the kitchen of the twelve-story hotel late at night and spread quickly. Authorities revealed the hotel lacked proper fire safety systems, including sprinklers and functioning fire exits. Survivors described smoke-filled corridors with no alarms and makeshift escapes using bed sheets. Firefighters rescued over fifty people using ladders.

On Wednesday the 22nd, President Erdoğan declared a national mourning day. Investigations revealed the hotel had failed safety inspections, with the owner withdrawing a fire safety permit application months earlier. The incident sparked public outrage and a political tug-of-war, highlighting inadequate enforcement of safety regulations in tourism areas.

Just a week after the fire in Bolu, on Monday the 27th, another fire broke out at a hotel construction site in Antalya. The blaze erupted on the third floor of a nearly completed twelve-story building while workers were inside the building. Firefighters were able to rescue those trapped and, thankfully, no one was harmed. The fire, caused by welding flames, spread despite the workers' efforts to extinguish it. This incident further fueled safety concerns in the country.

In other news, on Wednesday the 22nd, the delegation of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, met with Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, for the second time. After their four-hour meeting, the delegation issued a brief statement, saying they updated Öcalan on their recent discussions about Kurdish rights and political representation.

The delegation kept the statement short due to national mourning over the tragic hotel fire. Sources clarified that, under different circumstances, they would have shared more details. Though, they did emphasize the meeting did not include discussions about PKK’s disarmament.

Meanwhile, on Saturday the 25th, Mısra Öz, a mother who lost her nine-year-old son in the twenty eighteen Çorlu train crash, had her first court hearing for allegedly insulting a public official. The case stems from a twenty twenty-hearing where Öz criticized judicial authorities, accusing them of inaction. A police officer recorded her calling officials “palace clowns.”

The crash, caused by negligence on the Uzunköprü-Istanbul line, killed twenty-five people, including seven children.

Öz commented on the prosecutor’s demand, stating negligence was killing children and adults alike. She called for an independent judiciary to focus on real culprits, urging respect for grieving mothers.

Unfortunately, the tragedies continue. On Friday the 24th, a four-story apartment in Konya collapsed, trapping several people. The death toll is currently at two. Authorities arrested four people, including the owner and an employee of a fish restaurant located on the building's ground floor. The authorities accused them of cutting the building's support columns to expand the restaurant. They also arrested two other people, who operated other businesses in the building, though the cause of the collapse is still under investigation.

The building, which is thirty years old, had fourteen flats and seven shops. One survivor recalled hearing crackling sounds as the building started to collapse and quickly rang the bells of every flat, urging residents to evacuate. His quick thinking helped significantly reduce the number of casualties.

Next up, on Monday the 27th, Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of İstanbul, who is from the main opposition Republican People’s Party, accused Satılmış Büyükcanayakın, an expert assigned to key cases against the opposition, of preparing invalid reports to justify arrests. He said that the reports lacked the signatures from the required three experts, relying solely on Büyükcanayakın. These reports led to arrests and trustee appointments for district mayors. Following this, Istanbul’s Chief Prosecutor opened a new investigation into İmamoğlu, for attempting to influence judicial officials.

This follows another investigation from last week, when İmamoğlu criticized the Chief Prosecutor’s office over actions against opposition figures, accusing him of abusing judicial authority.

Speaking of investigations… On Friday the 24th, authorities detained and arrested celebrity agent Ayşe Barım as part of an investigation into her involvement in the twenty thirteen Gezi Park protests. Barım faces charges of attempting to overthrow or obstruct the Turkish Republic, with authorities accusing her of encouraging artists represented by her company, ID Communication Consultancy, to join the protests. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office also stated that Barım participated in the protests.

Barım, known for managing prominent actors, had previously faced social media criticism for monopolizing the industry and sidelining competitors. As part of the investigation, some of her clients testified as witnesses.

This week, it was revealed that on January 10th, the French Navy intercepted the Haliç-Equality, a Turkish vessel, and seized over nine tons of cocaine in a major drug bust. The vessel had left Istanbul in November last year; it turned off its radar signal in December which alerted the French Navy. After close monitoring, the navy intercepted the ship, finding 250 packages of cocaine valued at over three billion dollars. The lack of inspection for the Haliç-Equality ship in Turkey was called into question as it highlighted the country’s weak maritime oversight.

In other stories, on Thursday the 23rd, the Council of State, the highest administrative court in the country, finalized its decision to annul the General Directorate of Security’s twenty twenty-one ban on recording police. The court rejected the directorate’s appeal, stating that journalists can now legally record police officers’ images and voices in public. The ruling stated that the ban violated fundamental rights, including press freedom and communication, and that such restrictions should come from legislation, not executive action.

The court emphasized that limits on rights must be proportional and align with democratic society needs. It deemed the ban unnecessary and disproportionate, as it violated the right to information without valid justification.

The decision marks a significant win for press freedoms in Turkey.

On the same day, central Ankara's Governor banned the 13th Pink Life Queerfest, an LGBTI+ film festival organized by the Pink Life Association. The festival had started the day before with an award ceremony, but the government had already banned a film screening planned for Wednesday. The Governor's Office claimed that the festival's events went against societal sensitivities and could incite public outrage or provoke violence.

In twenty seventeen, the Governor had imposed a blanket ban on all LGBTI+ events, which a court lifted in twenty nineteen. The governor also banned the festival in twenty twenty-four. President Erdoğan’s Year of the Family initiative has further targeted the marginalized LGBTI+ community in his speeches, fueling calls for further crackdowns on their rights.

Some updates on the economy: On Thursday the 23rd, the central bank cut its key interest rate by 250 basis points to 45%, continuing the easing cycle that began in December. The move follows a drop in annual inflation, which fell to 44% in December, down from over 75% in May. The bank expects inflation to keep decreasing toward a 5% target over the next few years.

Despite the recent easing, inflationary risks remain, particularly with a 30% rise in the minimum wage for twenty twenty-five, which could push up inflation in the short term. With only eight policy meetings this year, the central bank is shifting away from last year’s tighter stance.

We want to close this edition with some good news. Over the last few months, Turkey has regained investor confidence, with over a billion US Dollars flowing into local bonds in the earlier week. This marks the highest foreign inflows in two months, with a twenty twenty-five total of almost two billion dollars so far. Investors are betting on the country’s economic recovery and stable macroeconomic outlook, with foreign holdings of government bonds now at more than 10%, the highest since twenty nineteen. As Turkey emerges from a tumultuous economic period, its debt market is becoming increasingly attractive.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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