NEWS CENTER - Member of the Diplomacy Committee of the Maxmur Camp, which has been under embargo for two years, Sait Çömlek called for national unity against the increasing attacks on the camp.
The embargo, which the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) placed on the Maxmur Camp after an armed attack on 3 people working in the Turkish Consulate on 17 July 2019 in the city of Hewlêr in the Federated Kurdistan Region, has been continuing for two years. The people of the camp, who are subjected to human rights violations with the embargo, also face ISIS attacks.
Sait Çömlek, member of the Maxmur Camp Diplomacy Committee, spoke to the Mesopotamia Agency (MA) about the embargo that has been going on for the last two years and what the people are going through.
BABY DEATHS
Stating that they had been exposed to similar embargoes before, Çömlek said that the last embargo was different and that travel to and from Hewler was also banned. Çömlek said, “In the past, we used to do meet our needs and do our works through Hewlêr and solve our problems. But for 2 years all our relationship was cut off. Especially when we have patients, we encountered very serious difficulties in going out. Due to the embargo, 8 pregnant women have lost their babies because they have been kept waiting at the check points. In addition, a citizen here suffered a heart attack. Although the doctor ordered that he be transferred to Hewler urgently to be treated there, he was not allowed and kept waiting hold for hours. Hours later she was allowed to pass, she too died as she was taken to the hospital. We face many problems like this."
132 CHRONIC PATIENTS
Noting that there are 132 chronic patients in the camp, Çömlek said, “As it is known, there is a coronavirus epidemic that has plagued the world. Undoubtedly, this disease affected the camp the most because the only way to treat these patients is in Hewler. We cannot benefit from our right to health, which is the most basic human right. In this process, hundreds of our people caught corona virus and 8 of us died from this disease. In addition to this, we have hundreds of people with chronic diseases in the camp. These diseases are mostly heart disease and diabetes. Diabetes and blood pressure patients in particular had a hard time. We have 30 cancer patients in total. These patients were not treated during this period. At the same time, there are 60 asthma patients, 40 people with paralysis and 2 Down Syndrome patients."
TALKS GAVE RESULTS
Emphasizing that the diplomacy work they carried out in Sulaymaniyah also partially yielded results, Çömlek said, “We had a hard time economically. Mosul is close to us, but we cannot go there because of the ISIS threat. Since we gave up hope on Hewler, we developed different ways and methods. We understood well that no matter what happens, they will no longer allow us to go to Hewler. That's why we started our diplomatic work in Sulaymaniyah. We held talks with human rights institutions and Kurdistani institutions. Our work took 10 days. We have gained efficiency from our work and the situation is a little better than before."
THEY ATTACKED THE CAMP
Stating that the attacks on the camp have increased recently, Çömlek said: “These attacks were carried out by ISIS and the Turkish Armed Forces. Undoubtedly, the attacks affected people's psychology badly. We are trying to get through the troubled processes by being in solidarity with our people. We succeeded at least a little. We are in solidarity with families in the camp who cannot work.”
SELF-DEFENCE AGAINST THREATS
Emphasizing the importance of self-defense against the threats on the camp, Çömlek said, “The threats against us have not stopped since the first day we came to the camp. From time to time, Turkey carries out airstrikes, and the threats of ISIS and Turkmen continue. Human rights organizations, non-governmental organizations and Kurdistani parties should be sensitive to these threats. We are openly threatened. Taking these threats seriously, we need to prepare for our self-defense. The United Nations (UN) and the Iraqi government have to secure this camp. In a possible attack, these forces should not remain silent. If such a situation occurs, the Iraqi government is responsible.”
EMPHASIS ON NATIONAL UNITY
Emphasizing the importance of national unity in the face of the attacks, Çömlek continued: “The situation of the camp is not similar with the other refugee camps. When a society migrates from its territory and settles in a place, there are forces to defend it. But unfortunately there is no one here to defend us. Since there is no one defending us, the camp is open to any attack. We need to focus on the work carried out in the diplomatic field. These threats never ceased. But for these threats to come to an end, the UN and the Iraqi government must fulfill their responsibilities. Although we criticize the UN on this issue, we should also criticize the KDP's stance in this regard. The KDP must now act as a Kurdistani party. In addition to the attacks against the camp, we must not forget the reason why we came to this camp. We need to come together and take care of each other.”
MA / Zeynep Durgut