How did the Red Crescent turn into Red Crescent Inc.?

Click to read the article in Turkish

The Red Crescent of Türkiye always witnessed the struggle of the new governments to also grab power in this institution. The management changed in the Red Crescent together with changes of government. There has even been fights for power in the Red Crescent due to the inner conflicts of the ruling party.

The spoils system in the Red Crescent has not been limited to political links. Family relations also determined the positions in the Red Crescent of Türkiye. The institution that has ten affiliated companies has a huge budget. While Muhammed Kerem Kınık is the head of the institution, his son Furkan Kınık is the vice president of the Young Red Crescent and also appears in the list of employees of the official Radio and Television Corporation (TRT).

Another manager of the Young Red Crescent is also on the board of a company making military construction tenders. Yet another manager is also a consultant to Roketsan which is producing weapons.

The purpose of the Red Crescent is defined in its website:

"The purpose of the Red Crescent is to prevent or to ease people's pain wherever it is without making any discrimination, to protect their lives and their health, to provide that people are respected and to develop mutual understanding, friendship, respect, cooperation and continuous peace between peoples. The Red Crescent is the symbol of solidarity in times of need, equality in times of pain, humanity in the most severe times of war, of impartiality and of peace."

Turned into Red Crescent Inc.

The Red Crescent of Türkiye which is an association working for the public interest has to deliver support and services for free and should be a non-profit organization according to the law.

However the Red Crescent has set up ten different companies for circumventing laws.

The institution has the following subsidiaries:

Red Crescent Drinks

Red Crescent Biomedical

Red Crescent Technology

Red Crescent Real Estate and Venture Fund Portfolio

Red Crescent Health

Red Crescent Tents and Textile

Red Crescent Culture and Arts

Red Crescent System Construction

Red Crescent Maintenance

Red Crescent Logistics

The Red Crescent of Türkiye which was widely discussed because of selling tents and food to AHBAB, a popular charity organization, the Turkish Pharmacists' Union and others trying to help the earthquake victims has made a notification to the Public Disclosure Platform on February 9, 2023, thus on the third day of the earthquakes.

In the notification made on behalf of Red Crescent Real Estate and Venture Fund Portfolio Management Inc., it is stated that the expression saying "the fund cannot invest in gold, other valuable metals, or other valuable goods" was deleted from the statute.

The tension in the Justice and Development Party (AKP) was reflected in the general assembly of the Red Crescent that met in 2022. Naci Yorulmaz who was in the board together with Kerem Kınık in the previous period could not be elected. Yorulmaz, who is known to be a friend of Bilal Erdoğan, President Erdoğan's son said in the general assembly meeting, "I objected to the selling of Red Crescent hospitals and real estates to companies in board meetings. I also want to express my objection today here. You have to keep quiet in some meetings and speak in others. When you keep quiet where you need to talk, you are guilty, and sinful too."

The 2022 general assembly had elected Kerem Kınık once again as the head of the institution and the board members were members of AKP. (Mİ/PE)