Turkish Medical Association: This intervention is against our profession

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The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) has denounced the incident where 89-year-old Dr. Erdinç Köksal fell to the ground while the police were trying to prevent physicians with violence from laying a wreath on İstanbul's Taksim Square on March 14 Doctor's Day in İstanbul yesterday.

Dr. Erdinç Köksal protested the police violence by saying, "We treated your mothers and fathers; please don't, for God's sake."

Amid the 2-day strike of healthcare workers across Turkey, the TTB has said, "The intervention against the delegation of our İstanbul Medical Chamber, who wanted to place a wreath on the Taksim Republic Monument on March 14 Doctor's Day, is done against our profession".

Referring to the remarks of President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who previously said that "physicians might leave as they wish as Turkey would carry on with newly graduated doctors", the Medical Association has stated:

"We do not accept this intervention that came right after the remarks of 'They may go as they like' in this ceremony that we hold every year."

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Referring to Dr. Erdinç Köksal, a member of the Retired Physicians Department, the TTB has recalled that Dr. Köksal "joins all protests like a great plane" and stressed that "the treatment of Köksal has been engraved in the memory of every single physician and added to their rage".

"Our gown is snow-white despite all these years-long smears and the mud thrown yesterday," the TTB has underlined further.

Recalling that today (March 15) marks the second day of healthcare workers' strike across Turkey, the TTB has said, "Today is the day to make our Dr. Erdinç's labor visible and to paint every medical institution of ours in white in the face of those throwing mud at our gown".

Physicians have been striking for two days in the face of defamation of their profession and in demand for their rights. (AÖ/SD)