“We will Take the Squares on May 31”

Taksim Dayanışması (Taksim Solidarity Group) declared that they will be in Taksim Square at the 1^st anniversary of Gezi Park Resistance.

The press conference was held in Büyükkent branch of the Chamber of Architects (TMMOB) with the participation of architect Mücella Yapıcı, attorney Can Atalay, Secretary of Chamber of City Planners-İstanbul branch Akif Burak Atar, Secretary of Chamber of Medicine-İstanbul branch and Muharrem Ayvalıtaş, the brother of Mehmet Ayvalıtaş, a young protestor who was killed during Gezi demonstrations in İstanbul.

In a joint press declaration, “We will take the streets on May 31th in order to show our commitment to our demands.  We will be in Taksim and all other public squares,” they declared.

Mücella Yapıcı reminded that after the 2011 general elections, the PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared the Taksim Pedestrianization Project - an urban renewal effort to gentrify the Taksim area with the reconstruction of Topçu Barracks.

6 people died within one and a half months

Ali Çerkezoğlu, on the other hand, said that just within one and a half months, six people died, 11 people lost one of their eyes, 60 people suffered from head trauma and hundreds of people injured in diverse manners, and this number have increased day by day.

“Treating inequitably injured citizens due to police violence is not actually our real task.  We don’t want to perform medicine profession in such country. Also the doctors who treated the people injured by police have been tried. They want to put Chamber of Medicine into jail as well, due to its support to the judged doctors. We demand both our parks, streams and the right to health,” said Çerkezoğlu.

Attorney Can Atalay pointed out that those who are liable for the police violence should be judged. “Despite their legal applications,” he continued, “ “We couldn’t access whole and complete info about the number of injured people and the number of the criminal complaints during Gezi demonstrations due to the state impediment.” (NV/CB/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.