Press Release
29 June 2013
WE HAVE BEEN PRACTICING MEDICINE HERE ON THIS LAND FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS
AND KEEP DOING THAT!
For about a month now, Turkey is experiencing extraordinary days.
Demonstrations first starting as a protest against the initiative to do away with a public park in Taksim, Istanbul, then turned into a popular rise against the policies of the ruling government to reshape the society according to religious norms, Prime Minister’s projects to create “religiously devout generations” fit to his thinking, his “ideas” that intervene in women’s private life from abortion to fertility, his authoritarian style of governing and plans for dictatorship.
All over the country, millions of citizens sensitive about trees, public parks and their way of life demonstrated their reaction in streets.
The response of the AKP Government to these democratic protests was intensive police terror. The police attacked purely peaceful demonstrations with its armoured vehicles, tear gas, water cannons and clubs. Mehmet Ayvalıtaş, Abdullah Cömert and Ethem Sarısülük were killed. Thousands of citizens were injured.
Including academic personnel at all levels and young students of medicine, hundreds of people from medical profession rushed to the help of demonstrators wherever they need it, in parks, squares and streets starting from the first day of demonstrations. We rushed to the help of all citizens suffocating as a result of tear gas, burned by various chemicals used and shot by plastic bullets. We tried to heal their wounds and pain.
And that is why we are the target of the Government now.
Doctors with no other deed but delivering health services were beaten and detained. There were teas gas attacks to infirmaries and hospitals where we treated wounded people.
There is the sheer lie that people drank alcoholic beverages in the Dolmabahçe Mosque where we gave first aid to injured people during those terrible nights of violence. And the Prime Minister keeps repeating this lie.
Here is how the Prime Minister accused us doctors as those “responsible” for the whole process:
“Where is your love for the people? Where is your commitment to take care of them? You have no worry such as humanity and human beings. All you do is to pursue your personal interests…”
(Mr Prime Minister, the “humane” nature of you and your Government is closely known by people living on this land from Taksim Square to Uludere. Corridors, yards of hospitals and clinics, patients and emergency aid seekers all know about your human affection. People with bruises, fractures, lost eyes and spleens...All are aware of that...
As if all these are not enough, the Ministry of Health started investigation about “volunteer infirmaries” we established during demonstrations.
We are asked to give the names of our colleagues worked in these places as well as names of our patients.
We are asked on what permission and authority we practiced medicine there.
We are asked to submit our defence for extending health services to people.
(In addition, with the new draft law that is no doubt intended as a revenge for the attitude of doctors during demonstrations and in spite of annulment of the earlier one by the Constitutional Court, we are asked to violate patients confidentiality and submit all health data of patients to the Ministry of Health; we are threatened to be banned to practice our profession by the decision of the Board for Health Professions which is under control of political authority.)
We reply:
We practice our profession here on this land once hosted the founders of the science of medicine: Hippocrates of Kos and Galenos of Pergamon...
We have practiced our profession with the strength and motivation we derive from our people whose pains have ceased; from feelings of gratitude of our patients whose survival we helped; from joy of life we catch in the eyes of elderly people after our successful surgery; from kisses we received from minors whose measles, pneumonia and fever we healed and from the universal solidarity of our colleagues taking side with us in our most difficult days...
We have done the last one with the authority given by our profession committed to human life.
We have done it in spite of the existence of despising, disrespectful and rude managers, dictators saying “keep doctors tied to trees so they cannot run away” and their copycats declaring the close of the period of esteem for doctors.
And we continue doing so fearlessly.
For thousands of years we have seen many leaders, kings and sultans on this land (even more we have seen their copycats)
They have all gone as we remain here.
They will go as well …
And we shall continue!
TURKISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
CENTRAL COUNCIL
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