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| Public’s Outrage Over Mine Disaster Casts Harsh Light on Turkey’s Premier | Public’s Outrage Over Mine Disaster Casts Harsh Light on Turkey’s Premier |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| SOMA, Turkey — There was no one to treat in the first aid tents near the entrance to the mine, where an old woman nearby wailed, “Our children are burning!” A man and his wife, dazed from a lack of sleep, walked the muddy grounds near here, looking for information about Tuesday’s explosion at the mine that no one in the government could provide. | SOMA, Turkey — There was no one to treat in the first aid tents near the entrance to the mine, where an old woman nearby wailed, “Our children are burning!” A man and his wife, dazed from a lack of sleep, walked the muddy grounds near here, looking for information about Tuesday’s explosion at the mine that no one in the government could provide. |
| “This is how they steal people’s lives,” said the grieving man, Bayram Uckun, who like many people here has become increasingly angry with Turkey’s leadership for its response to the disaster. “This government is taking our country back 90 years.” | “This is how they steal people’s lives,” said the grieving man, Bayram Uckun, who like many people here has become increasingly angry with Turkey’s leadership for its response to the disaster. “This government is taking our country back 90 years.” |
| The body of Mr. Uckun’s son, and those of at least 15 other men, was almost certainly still trapped in the coal mine. But with the death toll expected to rise above 300, this industrial disaster, the worst in Turkey’s modern history, has quickly metastasized from a local tragedy into a new political crisis for the Islamist prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. | The body of Mr. Uckun’s son, and those of at least 15 other men, was almost certainly still trapped in the coal mine. But with the death toll expected to rise above 300, this industrial disaster, the worst in Turkey’s modern history, has quickly metastasized from a local tragedy into a new political crisis for the Islamist prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. |
| Further aggravating antigovernment sentiment, security forces on Friday shot tear gas and water cannons at thousands of protesters in Soma. | Further aggravating antigovernment sentiment, security forces on Friday shot tear gas and water cannons at thousands of protesters in Soma. |
| Mr. Erdogan, whose Islamist party still holds unrivaled power after a decade, has recently stumbled from one political crisis to the next, often deepening public outrage with highhanded remarks and an authoritarian determination. That was the case again in Soma, even while the dead were being buried and bodies were still being recovered. | |
| Mourners wanted answers when the prime minister visited. Instead, some said, they got defiance. | Mourners wanted answers when the prime minister visited. Instead, some said, they got defiance. |
| Mr. Erdogan traveled to Soma on Wednesday and appeared defensive from the start. He suggested that mining disasters were commonplace, even in developed countries, and recited a list of accidents that occurred in Britain in the 1800s — an awkward comparison for a leader who has projected an image of Turkey as a modern democracy. | Mr. Erdogan traveled to Soma on Wednesday and appeared defensive from the start. He suggested that mining disasters were commonplace, even in developed countries, and recited a list of accidents that occurred in Britain in the 1800s — an awkward comparison for a leader who has projected an image of Turkey as a modern democracy. |
| “He inflamed the crowd,” said Ozcan, a hotel worker who gave only his first name. When Mr. Erdogan’s entourage faced angry hecklers in the town center, one of his aides was photographed kicking a protester who was on the ground. Seeking refuge from the crowds, the prime minister was hustled by his security team into a supermarket, where a video camera appeared to show him threatening an angry resident. | “He inflamed the crowd,” said Ozcan, a hotel worker who gave only his first name. When Mr. Erdogan’s entourage faced angry hecklers in the town center, one of his aides was photographed kicking a protester who was on the ground. Seeking refuge from the crowds, the prime minister was hustled by his security team into a supermarket, where a video camera appeared to show him threatening an angry resident. |
| “When he saw people heckling him, he moved on them, which is the worst thing to do,” Ozcan said. “They are angry, they are frustrated, they are sad. If the prime minister is coming to town, he should bear in mind that if he even stepped out of his car, he would face some kind of protest.” | “When he saw people heckling him, he moved on them, which is the worst thing to do,” Ozcan said. “They are angry, they are frustrated, they are sad. If the prime minister is coming to town, he should bear in mind that if he even stepped out of his car, he would face some kind of protest.” |
| Instead of accepting the criticism, Mr. Erdogan dared his hecklers to come closer. “It outraged people,” Ozcan said. | Instead of accepting the criticism, Mr. Erdogan dared his hecklers to come closer. “It outraged people,” Ozcan said. |
| “He clearly did not think about how to talk about this in public,” said Ziya Meral, a Turkish researcher and lecturer at the Foreign Policy Center in London. | “He clearly did not think about how to talk about this in public,” said Ziya Meral, a Turkish researcher and lecturer at the Foreign Policy Center in London. |
| He added, “Prime Minister Erdogan has clearly failed to communicate a personal and government message of condolence and national unity.” | He added, “Prime Minister Erdogan has clearly failed to communicate a personal and government message of condolence and national unity.” |
| Mr. Erdogan’s comments, and the stark images from the town center, where a miner statue has been dressed in red flowers and soccer scarves, have reinforced the image many critics have of him as arrogant, temperamental and increasingly autocratic. The crisis comes as Mr. Erdogan is trying to remain in power. An announcement that he would run for president this summer had been expected soon. | Mr. Erdogan’s comments, and the stark images from the town center, where a miner statue has been dressed in red flowers and soccer scarves, have reinforced the image many critics have of him as arrogant, temperamental and increasingly autocratic. The crisis comes as Mr. Erdogan is trying to remain in power. An announcement that he would run for president this summer had been expected soon. |
| Along with the violent street protests last summer in Taksim Square in Istanbul and a continuing corruption inquiry, the mine disaster has laid bare the fragile foundation upon which the image of Turkey as a rising regional and global power was presented to the world over the last decade by Mr. Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party, or A.K.P. | Along with the violent street protests last summer in Taksim Square in Istanbul and a continuing corruption inquiry, the mine disaster has laid bare the fragile foundation upon which the image of Turkey as a rising regional and global power was presented to the world over the last decade by Mr. Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party, or A.K.P. |
| The protests highlighted the disenchantment of a largely secular, urban class with Mr. Erdogan’s policies, including his push for a greater role for religion in public life. The corruption cases have exposed a dark underbelly of cozy and corrupt relationships between government officials and business tycoons. Now, the mine tragedy, analysts say, underscores the gap between Turkey’s push for prosperity and modernity and its ability to safeguard workers to the same standards as the West and, in particular, the European Union, which Turkey aspires to join. | |
| The A.K.P.’s power is built on its support from the country’s large numbers of religious conservatives, but many others, including rural blue-collar workers in this largely secular region, bought in to the party’s economic policies, and many now say they feel betrayed by the government they once supported. | The A.K.P.’s power is built on its support from the country’s large numbers of religious conservatives, but many others, including rural blue-collar workers in this largely secular region, bought in to the party’s economic policies, and many now say they feel betrayed by the government they once supported. |
| Amid Turkey’s rapid industrialization, the demand for energy has increased rapidly. Turkey has few oil and gas reserves, but an abundance of coal. The industry was privatized under the A.K.P., and the mine here was taken over by a pro-A.K.P. businessman who has boasted in public of lowering the costs of the business. Coal has also become closely linked to the A.K.P. at election time, with the party handing out free coal and food to voters. | Amid Turkey’s rapid industrialization, the demand for energy has increased rapidly. Turkey has few oil and gas reserves, but an abundance of coal. The industry was privatized under the A.K.P., and the mine here was taken over by a pro-A.K.P. businessman who has boasted in public of lowering the costs of the business. Coal has also become closely linked to the A.K.P. at election time, with the party handing out free coal and food to voters. |
| While it will take time to determine the cause of the disaster and whether corners were cut on safety standards, the community here has also directed its anger at company officials, who they say have been unresponsive and who have given conflicting information on casualties as the tragedy has unfolded. | While it will take time to determine the cause of the disaster and whether corners were cut on safety standards, the community here has also directed its anger at company officials, who they say have been unresponsive and who have given conflicting information on casualties as the tragedy has unfolded. |
| Mine officials said on Friday that they had followed all required safety precautions, and they repeatedly denied allegations that the mine’s administrators had been negligent. | Mine officials said on Friday that they had followed all required safety precautions, and they repeatedly denied allegations that the mine’s administrators had been negligent. |
| Yet they were unable to answer basic questions about what had caused the disaster. Alp Gurkan, the chief executive of the Soma Holding Company, which owns the facility, said he had not visited the mine since the accident — or, for that matter, in the last three years. “However, in light of things explained to me,” Mr. Gurkan said, “we say that we do not know the cause of the accident.” | |
| Under repeated questioning from journalists about safety measures in the mine, Mr. Gurkan and his colleagues gave contradictory answers about the presence of so-called safe rooms where workers would take shelter in the case of an accident. Finally, they conceded that there were no such rooms in the mine, and said there was no legal requirement to have them. | Under repeated questioning from journalists about safety measures in the mine, Mr. Gurkan and his colleagues gave contradictory answers about the presence of so-called safe rooms where workers would take shelter in the case of an accident. Finally, they conceded that there were no such rooms in the mine, and said there was no legal requirement to have them. |
| On Friday, a few miles from the mine, traffic backed up on the road to a cemetery, where a large field was freshly mowed, prepared for many more graves. | On Friday, a few miles from the mine, traffic backed up on the road to a cemetery, where a large field was freshly mowed, prepared for many more graves. |
| At the mine, a solitary man stood on a raised platform near its entrance. A miner from a nearby town, he was looking for equipment so he could join the rescue effort. But there is little hope of survivors, only that the remaining bodies can be salvaged so families can give them proper funerals. | At the mine, a solitary man stood on a raised platform near its entrance. A miner from a nearby town, he was looking for equipment so he could join the rescue effort. But there is little hope of survivors, only that the remaining bodies can be salvaged so families can give them proper funerals. |
| The miner said he considered his profession dangerous in any country, and added: “You have no other option. This is your bread money.” | The miner said he considered his profession dangerous in any country, and added: “You have no other option. This is your bread money.” |
| A mother recalled a visit this week from President Abdullah Gul, seen as a more conciliatory figure than Mr. Erdogan. Mr. Gul met with families and generally projected more compassion, but in times like these, any amount of government remorse is of little solace for the grieving. | |
| “The president asked us what we wanted,” the woman said. “I want nothing but my child’s body.” | “The president asked us what we wanted,” the woman said. “I want nothing but my child’s body.” |