On April 14, in the southeastern city of Urfa, a gunman entered a school and injured 16 people.
On April 15, in the central Anatolian city of Maraş, a 14-year-old student, İsa Aras Mersinli (whose father is a state security officer and whose mother is a teacher) went to school carrying five firearms belonging to his father and killed nine people. Dozens of students were also injured. Despite major protests by teachers, no steps have been taken to protect schools, teachers and students. Calls for the Minister of Education, Yusuf Tekin, to resign have been ignored and he remains in office.
After the attacks in Urfa and Maras, the Education Worker’s Union (Eğitim Sen) launched a “Life Vigil” in front of the Ministry of National Education (MEB). Chants of “Yusuf Tekin resign” were heard from in front of the Ministry. Teachers announced that they would spend the night in front of the Ministry.
In the press statement held on the first day of the vigil, Eğitim Sen General Secretary Zülküf Güneş, CHP Member of Parliament Mahmut Tanal, DEM Party Mersin MP Ali Bozan, and ASİM-SEN President Özgür Karaca took the floor, emphasising that the source of violence in schools is the current education system and polarizing political discourse.
The environment in which ministers act with impunity is not new. There are many examples.
In the Erzincan region, a commercial expansion project was approved despite geological concerns making it unfeasible. An explosion later occurred there, killing nine workers. The Minister of Environment, Murat Kurum, remains in his post and no government official has taken responsibility.
After the earthquake that killed tens of thousands, not a single public official resigned.
Gülistan Doku was killed by a network that reportedly included the son of the governor of Tunceli. No one involved, including the governor, has stepped down.
A hotel operating without a proper license was granted one by the Minister of Tourism, who also owned a tourism company and reportedly directed customers to that same hotel. The hotel later caught fire, killing 78 people. The minister still holds office.
The question remains: What more has to happen for the government to take responsibility and for ministers to resign in Turkey?
The answer is that this is all a product of the system built by President Erdoğan. Erdogan, who identifies Trump, Netanyahu and Orban as his “friends”, governs Turkey with a tightly controlled inner circle, and is clear that without his approval, no official can resign.