The head of the Department of Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, claims that he has no intention of retiring, and in case of his dismissal, there will be people who would continue his work at DSU, with one condition: to leave them to politics. “It is necessary to find a person who, despite all the obstacles, will move the matter forward and find a solution. To have access to the ears of those above. Fortunately, I have access,” said Raed Arafat.

Raid Arafat was asked on Prima TV what would happen to SMURD if he resigned or if the Prime Minister dismissed him.

“We are leaving the pension issue because I am not going to leave. That doesn’t mean I’m staying where I am, but I’m going to keep working. I’m not one to say I want to watch TV or that I’m bored. I was not bored. I am not thinking about retirement now. If someone asks me to leave, I believe that there will be people who will come and continue if they are allowed,” Raed Arafat was quoted as saying by News.ro.

He says that there will be people who would continue his work at DSU, with one condition: that the politicians leave them:

• “They should be left. It’s not easy. I cooperate very well with the Prime Minister, I cooperate very well with the Minister of Internal Affairs, but the efforts to change the situation for the better are titanic.
• And it will be necessary to find a person who, despite all the obstacles, will move the matter forward and find a solution. To have access to the ears of those above. Fortunately, I have access. I can go and talk, I can explain, I can have that dialogue. If a person is taken and put in a chair, after which he is no longer taken into account, and the funding goes only to make the system work, it is natural that the system will suffer. We have an internationally recognized system, we have a quality system, but one that supports improvement.
• Many times you feel that you are tied up and not allowed to fly, but not necessarily by those who make decisions from above, but because there is a lot of bureaucracy around you (…).
• When you have a lot of money for shopping, you are suspected of being a thief from the start and you have to prove that you are not a thief. This is the biggest problem in Romania and it has confused many civil servants and many people. Between 2015 and 2023, we will spend close to 1 billion euros on our emergency system. If someone catches one of those who worked for 1 lei, let him come, detain him, take him away, let him be healthy!”.

When asked if Johannis wants to fire him: I don’t know, I don’t comment. I know that we have a great cooperation

The head of DSU also noted that he has excellent cooperation with President Klaus Iohannis, who has not reproached him for anything during the nine years of his presidential mandate.

Asked by Prima TV if President Klaus Iohannis had reprimanded him for any interference during his nine years in office, Arafat said: “No. The cooperation was very good, including during the pandemic.”

In November 2021, former Prime Minister Ludovic Orbán said that President Klaus Iohannis had asked him to fire Raed Arafat as DSU chairman. Asked on Saturday if he was aware of the president’s intention, Raed Arafat denied it.

“I don’t know that, I don’t comment. This is something I have not been to and cannot comment on. I know that I have a great cooperation with him, very good. He recently did an extraordinary thing for civil protection, he handed over to the European Council a letter initiated by Romania, signed by nine other countries, including France. This is already having an impact, because at the Brussels level we are being asked to have a vision for the coming years. If there were problems, I wouldn’t be here. In the last two, we couldn’t have gone out with the firemen if he hadn’t agreed. Cooperation with the prime ministers and the president was very good on a professional level,” added Raed Arafat.