Ankara Mayor Yavaş Files Complaint Against AKP's Gökçek Over Diarrhea Claims
*Gökçek and Yavaş
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Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş has filed a complaint against his predecessor Melih Gökçek who implied on Twitter that the city water is the cause of the recent spike in diarrhea cases.
Gökçek from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was elected mayor of the capital in 1994 and served until October 2017 when he was forced to resign by President and AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
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Amid the recent spike in diarrhea cases in the city, Gökçek posted several tweets, implying that municipal water may cause illness.
He claimed that the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) used to blame the city water for diarrhea cases when Gökçek was the mayor and questioned why they are silent now.
ANKARA DA İSHAL OLAYLARI PANİĞİ YÜKSELTİYOR...
— İbrahim Melih Gökçek (@06melihgokcek) September 28, 2019
BAZI ÜNİVERSİTELERDE CATERİNG FİRMALARI (ki bahsettiğim firma günde 110.000 kişiye yemek veriyor) BU HAFTA SUYLA YIKANMIŞ SALATA VERMEYECEK...
ANKARA DA HİÇBİR DÖNEMDE EYLÜL SONUNDA BÖYLE YOĞUN İSHAL VAKALARINA RASLANMAMIŞTI...
In another tweet, Gökçek said that a catering firm that supplies food to 110 thousand people per day stopped serving vegetables that were washed with tap water. He also claimed that the number of diarrhea cases is unprecedented.
However, Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca stated that the city water and the frequency of diarrhea cases are not significantly different compared to previous years.
Yavaş filed a complaint against Gökçek for "creating fear and panic among the people". (HA/VK)