“We are announcing once more time, TTB will always stand behind doctors as well as others who participate the [Gezi] process.
“Let PM excuse us. Turkey’s doctors will never accept becoming the doctors of a PM who says ‘my police’”.
“We will always be by the side of those, including PM himself, who need our help within the universal principals of humanity. We will always be their doctors.
“If those who throw tear gas bombs and exercise violence have a prime minister, TTB has the humanity to be in solidarity with.
Such are the last words from a “Humanity and Doctors” video released by Turkish Doctors Union on the Gezi Resistance process.
During the Gezi Resistance, volunteer doctors, medicine students and healthcare professionals provided first aid and care to those who were injured due to police violence.
However, Health Ministry of Turkey launched investigation on those volunteers, demanding TTB and other medicine chambers in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir on why they did not consult to the ministry prior to their attempts to provide such services.
“We will not even submit any names, neither a single patient not doctor’s,” said TTB, promptly refusing ministry’s inquiries.
63rd Grand Congress on June 29
TTB also shared an invitation to its 63rd Great Congress within the video:
“This event will be held at a time when the parliament is discussing on a series of bills that will harm our professional and its independence.
“This Grand Congress will be held at a time when political pressures on doctors and doctor associations have critically rised, when prosecutions are launched against those who provide first aid to our citizens, when doctors are detained while doing their profession, and when healthcare professionals are subjected to gas bombs.”
The invitation statement also informed that several doctor associations worldwide would attend the congress and World Doctors Union General Secretary Otmar Kloiber are expected to deliver a speech on the professional independence.
“We are inviting all colleagues to participate the congress with their students, assistants and colleagues along with their white coats,” it said.
Highlights from the video
Some of the highlights from the video included:
We would expect from officials to
“be sensitive on peaceful events in Gezi Park,
“respect those who maintained their peaceful stand despite the excessive police violence,
“release statements (Health Ministry) to stop the violence immediately saying that police should not throw gas bombs at people with legitimate demands, or at places like hotels, rooms with sleeping babies, elderly and first aid treatment.
“We still weren’t expecting that they would”
“announce those helping doctors and healthcare professionals to be committing a crime,
“demand from TTB and other medicine chambers in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir on why they did not seek Health Ministry’s consent prior to their actions,
“demand the names of healthcare professionals and patients they treated,
“detain doctors and healthcare professionals...
“We didn’t know that"
“there were so many young people out there who would stand behind their peaceful, humorous, stubborn, honorable, pro-liberty and pro-equality cause and that their number is on the rise,
“after being regarded as ‘profit-some’ for so long, people would stand behind their doctors saying that ‘their only profit is the good of people’...
“We know it know, we remember that”
“humanity is above all about conscience, solidarity and fraternity,
“the legitimacy of confronting violence against freedom, equality, human dignity can never be suppressed,
“values of medicine are originated from the heart of human values and they could never be detached.” (BK/BM)
