Turkey’s prime minister has declared three days of national mourning in the wake of the tragedy but his response to questions about mine safety have sparked fresh controversy.<br /><br />Opponents have accused the Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government of ignoring repeated warnings about the safety of the country’s mines.<br /><br />“We as a nation of 77 million are experiencing very great pain,” Erdogan told a news conference after visiting the site.<br /><br />But he appeared to go on the defence when asked whether adequate measures had been in place at the mine.<br /><br />“Explosions like this in these mines happen all the time. It’s not like these don’t happen elsewhere in the world,” he said reeling off a list of global mining accidents since 1862.<br /><br />“Obviously this is a huge accident which has touched and saddened us deeply. This mine , however, was among the safest in terms of safety and protection according to a tests we had in April and May,” Erdogan added. <br /><br />Government and mine operators blamed<br /><br />An opposition politician Ozgur Ozel who has previously demanded an investigation into a spate of mining accidents in Soma, scene of the latest tragedy, criticised the government and mine-owners. <br /><br />The accident has thrown a spotlight on Turkey’s poor record on workplace safety and on what government critics say is its willfully lax regulation.<br /><br />“Our proposal was aimed at preventing accidents like this,” Ozel, a local MP from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), said in Soma.<br /><br />He blamed leasing arrangements implemented by Erdogan’s AK Party over the past decade, which allowed private firms to operate formerly state-run mines, for ruining safety standards.<br /><br />“The only way to increase profitability is to cut down costs,” he said. “Workers’ health, security and accident prevention are seen by mine operators as expensive, invisible and a burden. This is where savings are made first.”<br /><br />The Labour Ministry said this week that its officials had carried out regular inspections at the Soma mine, most recently in March, and that no irregularities had been detected.
