CHP leader calls on Scientific Board’s members to speak out

ANKARA

With Turkey witnessing its highest increase in the number of coronavirus cases, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on April 11 urged the members of the Science Board to speak out about the course of the pandemic in Turkey.

“Our Science Board is taken hostage,” Kılıçdaroğlu said in a video message he posted on Twitter.

“They are all hostages of a person. They cannot do their job. I call on them; do not be afraid to speak, we are with you,” he stated.

The CHP leader said he had a meeting with intensive care doctors.

“We know how dire the situation is, and in this context, the task has not been fulfilled sufficiently. Our somewhat reproach is towards the Science Board. My friends there have to be a little brave,” Kılıçdaroğlu stated.

He called on the members of the Science Board to better inform the public about the course of the outbreak in the country.

“If necessary, they should choose a spokesperson among themselves, where the chosen spokesperson should convey information to the public in a healthy way,” he said, emphasizing that he was well aware that the medical staff was making an extraordinary effort during the pandemic.

At least some of the demands of healthcare professionals should be met in this process, Kılıçdaroğlu said noting, that those demands, such as accepting the COVID-19 as an occupational disease, were not met.

Speaking to reporters on April 12, CHP spokesperson Faik Öztrak warned again against the peak in novel coronavirus cases in Turkey, saying that the country saw the highest rates since the beginning of the pandemic.

Stating that Kılıçdaroğlu met with intensive care doctors on April 11, he said, “Intensive care services in hospitals are alarming. We are facing the third wave in the pandemic. We faced the first two waves with the extraordinary efforts of our healthcare professionals. Unfortunately, we are meeting this last wave with a tired health army.”