Photo: Australlian Medical Association
Click to read the article in Turkish
The World Medical Association (WMA) has released an open letter in support of the TTB ahead of its 70th Great Congress on June 22.
Eleven members of the TTB Central Council were given prison terms for "terrorist propaganda" because of a declaration titled, "War is a Public Health Problem," regarding Turkey's 2018 military operation in Syria's mostly Kurdish-populated Afrin.
Signed by WMA Chair of Council Dr. Frank Montgomery and Secretary General Dr. Otmar Kloiber, the letter said that the government of Turkey is trying to silence the voice of physicians for peace, for dignity and well-being of all human beings.
Referring to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Turkey ratified in 2003, the letter condemned the prison sentences given to the doctors.
Here is the full text of the WMA's letter:
Dear Turkish colleagues,
We are writing to you on behalf of the World Medical Association, the global federation of National Medical Associations representing physicians worldwide. Acting on behalf of patients and physicians, the WMA endeavors to achieve the highest possible standards of medical care, ethics, education and health-related human rights for all people.
With this message of support, we echo the voice of millions of physicians worldwide for peace, for the dignity and well-being of all human beings. It seems to us that in Turkey this voice is being silenced, but we are solidly behind you to resound your concerns.
Like you and your physician's leaders from the Turkish Medical Association (TMA), we trust that war is a human-made public health problem with effects of destroying nature and humankind.
Like you, we consider that physicians have the duty to denounce violence and alert governments to the dramatic immediate and long-term health effects of warfare and armed conflicts. Expressing an opinion in support of peace is not a criminal offense in a democracy.
Quite the contrary, it is an essential human right enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that Turkey ratified in 2003.
We are therefore shocked and deeply disturbed by the recent decision of the Criminal Court of Ankara which condemned TMA's Central Council members of prison sentences for their call for peace. This is pure aberration.
We are also aware that many physicians are the target of a pervasive obstruction campaign run under the pretext of state of emergency, which prevents you to practice your profession in adequate conditions.
Not only does it violate your right to work, but it also deprives millions of people from access to health as a result. A sustainable and equitable health system allowing quality care to all those in need relies on a solid workforce with safe and sustainable working conditions.
Ultimately, targeting physicians amounts to targeting the Turkish population with increased exposure to diseases, suffering and premature deaths, as well as insecurity and poverty. We therefore seriously doubt that the current state of emergency serves the right purpose.
As physicians, we all took an oath to protect human life before any other interest. Our values are based on medical ethics and include the respect for autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence and justice. Be assured that we are in solidarity with you in protecting those ethical standards from any abuse.
(HA/VK)
