“As the equipment was entrusted to me, I couldn’t just leave them there. I was made a direct target,” says Muharrem Dalsüren, who lost one of his eyes by a gas bomb fired by the police in Ankara.

Muharrem Dalsüren, a sanitation employee for the Çankaya Municipality, lost an eye after gas bombs were shot by the police while he was on duty. Dalsüren stated that he was on duty while the event took place and was not part of the demonstrations: “It was clear that I was not a demonstrator but I was targeted directly. I turned my face away as I saw the bomb approaching. If I hadn’t seen it, it would have exploded right on my face,” he added.

On July 3, Monday, 2013, a gas bomb fired by the police had hit Muharrem Dalsüren, a sanitation employee for the Çankaya Municipality. After his injury, Dalsüren was admitted to the Hacettepe Hospital where he was immediately taken into surgery. With one eye lost, Dalsüren was discharged at the beginning of the week.

Dalsüren pointed out that he was on duty while the event occurred and added: “I was at the intersection of the Ziya Gökalp and Selanik boulevards. I had my container and cleaning equipment with me. A skirmish took place between the demonstrators and police. I couldn’t leave straight away as the equipment was officially entrusted to me. I was just about to pick them up and move to a calm area when I saw a gas bomb approaching 30 metres away from me, fired from under the Selanik Bridge. I averted my face but it hit my eye.”

Dalsüren said that he fainted immediately, and found himself at the hospital when he came to: “It was obvious that I am a sanitation worker. I was wearing my gloves. They say that gas bombs are to be fired at an angle of 45 degrees. But I was clearly targeted directly.”

Stating that he lost his eye while he was on duty and despite the fact that he did not take a part of the demonstrations, Dalsüren pointed out that, “many MPs from CHP and the Çankaya Mayor Bülent Tanık cam to visit though no one even called from state authorities.”

“They did not learn their lesson.”

Underscoring that he was injured while on duty, Dalsüren stated: “They didn’t learn heir lesson after what happened to me. There were many others injured after me. If police would’ve realised whom they were against as ‘human beings,’ no one else would’ve gotten injured.”

Stating that he will press charges, Dalsüren added that the attorneys at the Union, which he is a member of, are aiding him. Dalsüren also mentioned that his plastic surgeon gave him a month-long medical leave of absence and his return to work is dependent on his eye. “I have to have my eye checked every morning. I use painkillers to relieve my pain,” he stated.

İklim Öngel
14 June 2013
Source: http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/

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