A delegation including Democratic Society Congress (DTK), Co-Chairman Berdan Öztürk, Hozan Kardas from Turkey Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK-T), People and Freedom Party Chairman Mehmet Kamaç, Cemal Sate from Azadi Party and People’s Democratic Party (HDP)  Batman MP Ayşe Acar Başaran has visitied Mahmur Camp, which has been under embargo for about 7 months. The delegation was welcomed by the administrators of the camp, including Mahmur People's Council Co-chair Hecî Kaçan.

 

DTK CO-CHAIR ÖZTÜRK: HOSTILITIES SHOULD END

 

In his speech about their visit to Mahmur after a series of meetings, DTK Co-Chair Berdan Öztürk reminded that the camp was a place where the immigrants from the borderline cities settled due to the pressure of the state in 90s. Emphasizing that the camp residents have never bend their heads and obeyed despite all the oppression, Öztürk pointed to the embargo on the camp and said: “We follow the situation of Mahmur closely. This attack and embargo is unacceptable.” Öztürk noted that Kurdish people should put an end to hostility between their own and that Turkey's policy is built on not to let the willpower of the Kurds to be realized.

 

WE WILL CARRY MAHMUR’S VOICE EVERYWHERE

 

HDP MP Başaran also stated that the Kurdish national unity, which is on the agenda for a while, is one of the purposes of their visit. Emphasizing that Mahmur is not only under embargo, but also under many attacks of ISIS, Başaran told: “Our efforts is for ending this embargo and blockade. We are trying to reach the voice of Mahmur everywhere.”

 

EMBARGO IN MAHMUR

 

Mahmur Camp is located approximately 100 kilometers from the city of Hewlêr (Erbil) city, which the capital of the Iraqi Federated Kurdistan Region, and is connected to the Mosul province. The camp, which has been on the agenda with the constant threat to close down, is a place where approximately 12 thousand Kurds have been living. Those Kurdish residents of the camp are those who had to migrate between the years 1993 and 1995 from Şırnak and Hakkari, the border cities, due to the village-burnings and evacuations and the impositions of rangership/guardianship, The camp, whose half of the populations consists of children, was taken under the protection of United Nations (UN) in 1998.

 

Mahmur Camp was taken under embargo after the armed attacks on three officials in Hewlêr consulate on July 17, 2019. The entrances and exits of the camp have been closed since.

 

All levels of management is led by its youth and women in the camp, which adopts the "Democratic Autonomy" model of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan. The camp was not in the agenda in many of the discussions held so far between the PKK and the governments of Turkey.

 

President Tayyip Erdogan of AKP re-targeted camp in recent months with his speech stating, "Mahmur Camp is already a terrorist camp for a long time" and the camp has been often bombarded recently.