Turkish government submits bill to parliament granting Red Crescent Society new economic and administrative privileges.
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The Justice and Development Party submitted a bill to parliament granting the Turkish Red Crescent Society broad economic and administrative privileges.
The bill includes facilities in public procurement and new authority over subsidiary companies and oversight of donation usage.
This comes after years of controversy over tent sales during the earthquake and the organization's management of humanitarian operations.
Turkey's government is granting the Turkish Red Crescent extensive economic privileges including government procurement without tender and transfer of beneficiary data from social assistance programs. The opposition rejects the proposed law, considering it a 'privileges and regulatory exemptions law' lacking sufficient oversight.
If the Turkish parliament passes this law, a single association will control the distribution of social assistance and government procurement without oversight, which could affect access to assistance for eligible beneficiaries. The move raises concerns about bias in the distribution of aid and humanitarian services based on partisan criteria rather than actual needs.
Mehmet Yılmaz