Major labor union confederations and the engineer and architect organisations voiced their support for the imprisoned physicians in Turkey.

Last week the final verdict was delivered by a Turkish court and more than 10 doctors, all in the then Central Committee of the Association of Physicians of Turkey, were sent to prison for stating that war was a health hazard for humanity.

Turkey does not allow any criticism of its policies, especially if done in public.  The physicians statement had been publicized at a time when Turkey had started attacking Syria, its southern neighbor to prevent formation of a Kurdish enclave and to grab land.

In the trial, doctors defended their stand against war and repeated their collective and public statement that war actually was a human health issue.  In return, the members of the physicians’ organisation’s Central Committee received prison sentences.  One member was sentenced double the time the others received because she had published the peace statement in social media.

Today, the representatives of DISK (The Confederation of Progressive Labor Unions), KESK (The Confederation of Public Labor Unions), and TMMOB (the United Organisation of Chamber of Engineers and Architects) came out to support the physicians and their public statement.  The representatives emphasized that the verdict was not only against the doctors but was also against “all sectors that are for peace and solidarity in Turkey.”

The joint statement accused the judges in the trial to be biased against the doctors and for following the political line of the government: “From the very first day, this trial has been guided and used by the political government.”

The statement in support of the peace demand also referenced the principle adopted by the country’s founding father Mustafa Kemal, “Peace in the land, Peace in the world.”

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