Red Crescent’s head resigns over tent sale after earthquake
ANKARA
Turkish Red Crescent head Kerem Kınık has reportedly resigned after mounting criticisms against him for selling tents to a civilian aid organization just days after the deadly Feb. 6 earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people in Türkiye’s south.
The Turkish media reported Kınık’s resignation late afternoon on May 12. His resignation came after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed his criticism against Kınık in a televised statement late on May 11.
“This issue has seriously saddened me. The Red Crescent cannot sell tents. This mistake should be rapidly recovered,” Erdoğan said.
The Turkish Red Crescent’s sale of 2,050 tents in its warehouse to AHBAP, a local aid organization, in the first days of the quakes had sparked debate.
The 2,050 tents without logo, which were previously produced for a foreign organization and were in the warehouse at that time, were sold to AHBAP at cost price, stated Kerem Kınık, general manager of the Red Crescent.
