It’s a bad transaction. The humanitarian aid organization turkish red crescent was strongly criticized on Sunday by the opposition and the Turkish media for having sold and not donated tents for survivors of the earthquake which devastated the south-east of Turkey on February 6.
According to the daily Cumhuriyet which revealed this affair, the Turkish Red Crescent sold 2,050 tents intended for survivors to the charitable NGO Ahbap for 46 million Turkish liras (2.4 million dollars). These tents have been transported and installed in the regions affected by the earthquake, the NGO said on Twitter on Sunday.
” It is a scandal “
Turkish Red Crescent President Kerem Kinik confirmed on Twitter that Kizilay Cadir, a subsidiary of his organization responsible for producing the tents, provided Ahbap with shelter “at cost”. “The Red Crescent’s cooperation with Ahbap is moral, reasonable and ethical,” said Kerem Kinik.
But his statements did not stop the outcry in the media and on social networks. “Turkey’s biggest charity, the Red Crescent, sold tents instead of giving them free to those in need as people begged for them three days after the quake. It’s a scandal”, estimated the journalist of Cumhuriyet at the origin of the revelation of the sale, Murat Agirel.
Erdogan splashed
The Turkish government has been accused of not distributing enough tents, humanitarian aid and deploying sufficient relief teams in several localities in the days following the earthquake. NGOs including the charity Ahbap and volunteers have lent a hand to fill the gaps.
Endowed with the status of an association, the Turkish Red Crescent works closely with the Turkish authorities and benefits from numerous official donation campaigns. Several opposition figures have called for the resignation of the president of the Red Crescent. ” Shame on you ! “, hammered on Twitter Meral Aksener, the president of the formation Iyi Party (nationalist).
This week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused critics of the Red Crescent of being “dishonest and vile”. He drew criticism from the leader of the main opposition party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.