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Bam MP: "Aid not reaching needy people"

Friday, January 09, 2004 - ©2003 IranMania.com

TEHRAN, Jan 7, Iran Daily -- Bam MP Hatam Naroie warned that the Bam killer quake should not be politicized. Speaking in a Majlis open session, Naroie said, "Before I criticize the relief operations carried out so far, I shall hope that my remarks would not be used for factional considerations and gains.

I would like to inform all those who hear me talk that I am speaking as an aggrieved citizen of the republic and I have no political intentions.

It must also be noted that I am not running in the next Majlis elections and hence I am not pursuing any factional considerations and do not seek to please any political group by saying what they want to hear. I expect no person inside or outside the country to politicize my remarks."

The legislator went on to observe, "Although it is not yet one month since the Bam killer quake, the sad part is that the heat has died down. It is obvious that Bam should not be forgotten. If we ignore people, people will also ignore us."

Appreciating the presence of President Khatami and his cabinet members in Bam, Naroie asked, "Isn't it too late to implement the national renovation plan? Did 40,000 oppressed citizens have to die before we think of implementing this plan? Should human resources be always victimized by our imprudence?"

He recalled that he had warned Minister of Road and Transportation Ahmad Khorram on several occasions before the quake hit Bam about the poor conditions of Bam's buildings. "How many times should an MP warn a senior governmental official orally and in a written manner before remedial measures may be adopted?" he noted.

The MP also said, "Kerman-Bam railroad was used for only one day after the quake. This is while the railroad was made operational a few months ago. Couldn't we have used this railroad system to dispatch aid to the crisis-stricken people of Bam.

At a time when people of Bam needed help, all the roads were blocked and the railroad was not used." Naroie stressed that Bam-Kerman Freeway should be completed as soon as possible so that more people would not be victimized. Elsewhere in his remarks, Naroie said that domestic and foreign aid are not reaching the real needy people.

"More control should be exercised over the distribution of aid among people. Distribution of goods and facilities in villages should be assigned to the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee because its members know the area better than other people," he noted.

"It is so regrettable that aid packages are thrown from trucks on the ground so that people would pick them up. The dignity and honor of people should also be considered." The lawmaker called on related officials to provide the people of Bam with sufficient medical care so that the survivors would not die of infectious diseases.

He also said shortcomings with regard to supplies of water, electricity and fuel, as well as telephone operation, still remain in Bam.