As a wildfire in the Şemdinli (Şemzînan) district of Turkey’s southeastern province of Hakkari (Colemerg) began to rage, the district mayor criticised media posts on the wildfire, saying on Twitter:
#Semdinliyanıyor etiketi ile paylaşılan ve koparılan yaygara gerçeği yansıtmamaktadır. Örtü altı yangını denilen ot ve kurumuş bitkilerin yanması kontrol altına alınmıştır. Kaymakamımız Sn @ykp_gvn Başkan Vekilimiz Sn M. Halit Alp ve protokol üyeleri yangın bölgesini inceledi pic.twitter.com/DbJak9NeaH
— Tahir SAKLİ (@TahirSakli) August 18, 2021
“All the fuss around the hashtag #Semdinliburning does not reflect the truth. The fire, which is caused by a blaze in dry grass is under control.”
A few hours later, the mayor, Tahir Saklı, tweeted again saying that the fire had re-started: “The fire which had been taken under control around noon started again due to the wind. Our teams including firefighters are working to stop the fire, but the rugged terrain makes it difficult to work effectively.”
İlçemiz Yiğitler mezrası bölgesinde çıkan yangın öğle saatlerinde kontrol altına alınırken, rüzgarın etkisiyle yeniden alevlendi. İtfaiye ekiplerimizin de aralarında bulunduğu ekiplerin müdahalesi devam ediyor, ancak arazinin engebeli olması müdahaleleri zorlaştırmaktadır. pic.twitter.com/GAhxArBFMv
— Tahir SAKLİ (@TahirSakli) August 18, 2021
Hakkari’s representative at the Turkish National Assembly, however, closely following the situation, stated that he had not encountered any firefighting team or teams along the route.
Sait Dede, MP for the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), indicated that the fire could have actually been started by military gunfire, reported Mesopotamia News Agency.
“The fire started near the military base,” he said. “Looking back at our past experiences, it may have started due to military gunfire.”
A video was released by MA showing the wildfires nearby as Dede went on to criticise the mayor’s tweet: “The representatives of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) tell us not to make a fuss. Look, you can see how the fire is raging. Not only on this side. It’s raging on the other side as well,” he said and added: “There’s no firefighting team around. As a matter of fact, it looks like they’re just letting the fire rage.”
After the wildfires that started mostly in the southern provinces of Turkey at the end of July, rumours started spreading on the social media that they were the results of arson by supporters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The rumours sparked ‘manhunts’ for Kurds in many places, and vigilantes set road blocks to check people’s IDs to see the birth places of passengers.
