NCRI – There is a huge amount of corruption within Iran’s Red Crescent, due to interference by the Iranian Regime, according to a report by the Fars news agency, which is affiliated to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
They reported that corruption and incompetence plagued the humanitarian organisation, leaving it unable to care for the vulnerable and the sick.
They reported: “This organisation has a duty to provide medical care and save people, but apparently these days it is more involved in completing the puzzle and placing its managers in higher posts, than resolving the country’s crises.”
Severe rainfall in Southern Bushehr and Kerman Province last week caused extensive flooding in eight cities and many villages, the likes of which have not been seen for 15 years or more. The provinces are still in a state of emergency but the Red Crescent has been lacking in its response, according to Fars.
They wrote: “The Red Crescent while enjoying a massive budget from the government, and domestic and foreign organisations, was not present as it should have been in these incidents.”
Fars accused the Red Crescent of peddling statistics rather than helping people, stating: “Every now and then, the Red Crescent is claiming this or that number of people were rescued from imminent death! And yet it is never clarified how such statistics are actually obtained and what is the source of these numbers.”
Red Crescent officials have in the past, addressed these criticisms by revealing a low budget.
Red Crescent Public Relations chief, Vahid Rahmati, said, regarding the Plasco incident in Tehran: “We must take into notice the lowest possible amount of equipment has been provided to the Red Crescent and we can even say we have very minimum supplies in comparison to foreign medical teams.”
Fars notes that the Red Crescent officials should be protesting inadequate budgets and bring this to the attention of the Iranian President.
However, all the appointments and dismissals of Red Crescent officials is carried out by the Regime, so surely, they must already be aware of the funding shortage.
Fars reports that Mostafa Mohammadion was appointed as secretary general shortly before a large number of appointments and dismissals took place; Fars sees this as suspicious and politically motivated by the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who is expected to lose his re-(s)election bid in May.
