PRESS RELEASE FROM Turkish Medical Association
21 June 2013
Humanity and Medicine!
We waited and expected those at the top
To be sensitive to a peaceful action taking place in Gezi Park…
To have respect to those who firmly adopted a peaceful attitude in spite of all violent acts against them…
Not to harm our citizens who rushed to streets peacefully to react to violent acts and attacks targeting even most fundamental humanistic demands…
Yes, we waited and expected
The Minister of Health to ban the use of chemical gases against our people raising their legitimate demands, against the wounded; in hospitals and other places where medical care is given, in hotels where people sought shelter, in rooms where small children were sleeping, against the sick and elderly …
We waited and expected them
To express their grief for the loss of Mehmet Ayvalıtaş, Abdullah Cömert, Mustafa Sarı and Ethem Sarısülük, To convey their wishes of recovery to 59 citizens seriously wounded, 11 others who lost their eyes and thousands of citizens injured in various ways…
We waited for them
To say it is under our guarantee to deliver medical care to all without any distinction who have suffered from violence and been exposed to gas while out on the streets just for the fact that they are human beings; without enlisting them for governmental scrutiny and without keeping their records for governmental access…
And we waited and expected them
To recall human ethics and say “health workers have their immunity even in wartime” seeing physicians and students of medicine who were running around to help citizens falling breathless by tear gas, losing an eye or having skull fractures…
But we didn’t expect the following:
Engagement in such a disproportionate violence day after day against millions of people demanding freedom, equality and respect,
Collective and violent detention of lawyers, who opposed unlawfulness in the court houses,
Accusing physicians, medical students and health workers of committing a crime for providing urgent care to wounded people, Sending official warnings to the Turkish Medical Association and Medical Chambers of İstanbul, İzmir and Ankara repremanding them for not having asked for permission from the Ministry of Health before helping urgent cases,
Asking for teh lists of the names of physicians, medical students and health workers involved in the provision medical care to wounded people and the names of the people who received such medical care,
Detention of physicians and health workers,
Prime Minister’s attempt to divide the society into two camps and using them as a threat to one another,
Targetting Turkish Medical Association and physicians as wrongdoers and insulting them,
Categorizing as crime those acts which are deemed as rights in universal law and international conventions.
But we also didn’t know that
There were too many peace-loving, witty, determined, stubborn and dignified young people ready to rise for freedom and equality as well as so many rejuvenating adults,
We didn’t know that
There were too many physicians, medical students and health workers who would so quickly rush to help our citizens who suffered from violence in return for their just and peaceful demands,
We didn’t know that
After having been subjected to so many years of unjust discourse of “physicians are just selfish, they pursue their interests only” our people would embrace us warmly saying “no interest of theirs is above the well-being of their patients, didn’t you know that?”
We didn’t know that
Physicians worldwide would so quickly take sides with us in solidarity and making the same call to the Prime Ministry as we did by reminding the ethics and values of the profession of medicine.
Now we know...
We recalled
that humanity is conscience, solidarity and fraternity after all,
that nothing can compromise the rightfulness of those rising against oppression and violence in the name of equality, freedom and human dignity,
that values of medicine derive from human values and cannot be separated from them...
After all our experience for the last 20-25 days, Prime Minister’s statements targeting the Turkish Medical Association among others annoy us no more. We also regard as normal those unscientific statements by the Prime Minister concerning abortion and caesarian section that also target physicians. We understand his furiousness and perplexity. Our only concern is possible delay in reaching the bright, peaceful, free and equal future that awaits us.
Here we declare once more: As the Turkish Medical Association we shall always be among, backing, leading and siding with both physicians and all who are involved in this process.
And we add: The Prime Minister should excuse us; physicians in Turkey will never accept to be “Prime Minister’s physicians” as he is fond of speaking possessively for the police forces as “my police”. As physicians in Turkey we shall be ready to help all who need us (including the Prime Minister himself).
If those resorting to tear gas, pressurized water and violence have their Prime Minister, the TTB has humanity to be in solidarity with.
Turkish Medical Association
Executive Council
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