I Watch calls for full audit of fundraising for the Palestinian people

Tunis: The organisation I Watch has called for a full audit of the donations collected by the Tunisian Red Crescent as part of the campaign to support the Palestinian people. It said that several omissions had been noted in the management of the funds collected by the Tunisian Red Crescent, and called on it to publish the list of donors' names so that they can verify the registration of their donations. I Watch said it has sent two letters to the Tunisian Red Crescent via a notary, asking it to disclose the value of donations in kind and cash collected as part of the national fundraising campaign for Palestinians in Gaza. The organisation asked for details of the number of consignments sent, the quantities and value of cash donations and the value of in-kind and cash donations not yet sent, as well as the operations involved in sending the donations and the value and quantity of unusable and out-of-date donations destroyed. It also called for the publication of the records of the destruction of donations. I Watch also pointed out that the Tunisian Red Crescent had "violated the provisions of Decree-Law 88 on the organisation of associations" by not publishing its accounts for several years. Representatives of the Tunisian Red Crescent last Saturday held a press conference in which a series of documents, videos and statistics were presented to dispel rumours questioning the integrity of this organisation. The organisation's spokeswoman, Boutheina Gregba, stressed that the "campaign led by suspicious parties" had tarnished the organisation's image and disrupted its missions. Red Crescent officials did not deny the content of videos showing members of the organisation destroying equipment and food and throwing it into the courtyard of the Red Crescent headquarters, insisting that they had been forced to destroy donations consisting of worn-out and unusable equipment and expired food. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse