Turkish Medical Association calls for end to violence

ISTANBUL

The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) shared the results of a web-based survey it conducted with 11,000 of people who declared that they had been affected by the gas. DAILY NEWS photo / Emrah Gürel

The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) issued a statement today slamming the “savage” tear gas intervention that affected people in many different parts of Turkey. It also claimed that “tagging” was being conducted by the authorities to prevent injured people from going to hospitals for treatment.

The association called on the international community “to act against the brutal suppression of democratic demands” in Turkey.

“The police forces are savagely using chemical gas on unprotected civil masses,” the statement said.

The association shared the results of a web-based survey it conducted with 11,000 of people who declared that they had been affected by the gas.

Fifty-three percent of people said they had been exposed to chemical gas for 1-8 hours, while 11 percent had been exposed for more than 20 hours.

Describing the night-long police intervention on June 15 as a “disaster,” the association said a large number of protesters had “injuries on the head, face, eyes, thorax and abdomen that could be fatal.”

The statement also claimed that “tagging” had been conducted, which prevented those “tagged” from seeking medical treatment at hospitals. Thus, only around 5 percent of injured people were admitted to hospitals.

The TTB also drew attention to the detention of doctors in Istanbul, calling on the government to stop the violence immediately.