A makeshift camp in Antakya, southern Turkey, on February 22. AFP
A makeshift camp in Antakya, southern Turkey, on February 22. AFP
A makeshift camp in Antakya, southern Turkey, on February 22. AFP
A makeshift camp in Antakya, southern Turkey, on February 22. AFP

Turkish Red Crescent criticised for selling tents to quake charity


Soraya Ebrahimi
  • English
  • Arabic

The Red Crescent humanitarian group came under fire from opposition parties and media on Sunday for selling rather than donating tents to those made homeless by the deadly quake this month.

The Turkish Red Crescent has sold 2,050 tents to the local Ahbap charity for 46 million Turkish lira ($2.4 million), the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet reported.

The February 6 earthquake killed more than 44,000 people in Turkey and thousands more in neighbouring Syria.

"This is a scandal," said Murat Agirel, the Cumhuriyet journalist who broke the story about the sale of aid tents.

"Turkey's largest charity, the Red Crescent, sold tents instead of distributing them for free to those in need when people were begging for them three days after the earthquake."

Earthquake aid collection at Expo City Dubai - in pictures

Turkish Red Crescent head Kerem Kinik confirmed on Twitter that Kizilay Cadir, a subsidiary of his organisation in charge of producing the tents, provided them to Ahbap "at cost price".

"The Red Crescent's co-operation with Ahbap is moral, reasonable and ethical," Mr Kinik said.

But several opposition figures called for the resignation of the Red Crescent chairman.

Syrian earthquake casualties in Abu Dhabi - in pictures

"Shame on you," Meral Aksener, chairwoman of the nationalist Iyi Party, said on Twitter.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused those who criticise the Red Crescent of being "dishonest and vile".

Lands cracked by earthquake in Turkey - in pictures

In response, the leader of the main opposition party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, accused Mr Erdogan in a tweet of "insulting the earthquake victims".

The Turkish government was accused of failing to distribute sufficient tents, humanitarian aid and relief teams in several locations in the days after the earthquake.

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Babumoshai Bandookbaaz

Director: Kushan Nandy

Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami

Three stars

FFP EXPLAINED

What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.

What the rules dictate? 
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.

What are the penalties? 
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.

Updated: February 26, 2023, 10:07 PM`