Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends of the democratic people's movement in Turkey!

Istanbulites are under brutal attack.

The violence of the police and security forces since the evening of June15th when the police attack against Gezi Parkı started after the heavy provocations of Prime Minister Erdogan.

The city is under clouds of tear gas of all kinds, including the prohibited kinds.

Taksim Square looks like a battlefield, and now is closed to public access. Rubber bullets, water cannons, scorching chemicals, acid, and blast bombs were widely utilized until the first hours of this morning. There are queues of naked people waiting for aid in front of hospitals, yet hospitals and hotels that are used as shelters are also attacked with gas, over and over.

Hotels around Taksim Square are being evacuated due to extreme use of gas; numerous children are lost and heavily affected during the tear gas attack; a pregnant women lost her three-and-a-half month-old baby. 132 people are reported to be seriously injured and 5 people are burnt from the chemicals sprayed on them.

The JDP government is waging a war against its own citizens by committing crimes against humanity: attacking hospitals and volunteering health care personnel; using tear gas and other chemicals inside houses, hotels and hospitals; closing the identity numbers on the police helmets; exercising widespread censorship over freedom of press; putting limitations over the Internet and prevention of media access.

Police and security forces attacked thousands of Istanbulites marching from every corner of Istanbul in order to reach Taksim Square. Many arrested people cannot be found in the police stations.

This brutal attack must be stopped. The government is and will be responsible for the following events. We urge the progressive international community to strongly remind the JDP government of its responsibility with all available means.

We are seriously concerned with the health status of our citizens who are injured and would be injured. We urge the progressive international community especially to warn the government about the attacks against the children, pregnant women, injured citizens, voluntary health personnel, temporary health shelters and hospitals.

Yesterday evening ten thousands of people marched from every corner of Istanbul and today this march will continue. It is not possible to stop this march of our people.

We urge the progressive international community to start urgent solidarity actions with this democratic march of our people.

Oya Ersoy is chairperson of People's Houses in Turkey.