What is the Mahmur Camp Incident? How is it related to what is happening in Gaza?

You remember, don't you? Mahmur? I mean the Mahmur Camp in Northern Iraq, where PeKaKa is being fed and aided and abetted. I think you also remember how it came about. You know, a camp in northern Iraq that was created one night with villages and villagers forcibly displaced from the Şırnak and Hakkari regions under the direct orders of CENTCOM and pressure from PeKaKa. Wow, it's been almost 30 years. You are right not to remember. In this article, I wanted to present the pathetic situation of approximately 12 thousand Turkish citizens who were forcibly displaced, in a sense deported, from Şırnak and Hakkâri regions bordering Northern Iraq to Northern Iraq one night in 1994 by PeKaKa. Undoubtedly, this situation was seen as essential for the US to decide that the organization should survive under any circumstances. In the counter-propaganda, the world public opinion was tried to be influenced as Kurds illegally migrating to Northern Iraq after the villages were evacuated by the Turkish Army on security grounds. However, Turkey has protected its own citizens in every way. So much so that from the very first moment Turkey worked towards the liquidation of Makhmur and even went further and pioneered the establishment of a trilateral mechanism with the US and Iraq. Later, the Kurdish Regional Government was also included in the 'trilateral mechanism' in line with the insistent demands of the US. However, Turkey attached special importance to the fact that PeKaKa was not included in this mechanism in any way. Barzani is also aware of its support. Because Turkey did not negotiate with terrorism on almost every occasion, but continued its glorious struggle. An excuse such as "we fought but did not get results" is seen as a cheapness, as if to stop the bloodshed and the tears of the mothers. This approach is absolutely unacceptable. BECAUSE TERRORISM CANNOT BE NEGOTIATED, IT CAN ONLY BE FOUGHT. 

In 2006, the United States even established a Special Representative for Counter-Terrorism in order to put an end to the Mahmur Camp's status as a safe haven for PeKaKa, to end the support provided to the terrorist organization in Northern Iraq by Barzani and his administration, to use the political influence of the United States on European countries to put an end to the money laundering activities of the organization, and to end the current activities as soon as possible. (1) 

But it is a well-known and widely accepted fact that PeKaKa's lifeblood must be provided locally and cheaply, by any means necessary.  The masters do not give a damn if the people who have been put under their control are going to be scattered electorally from one place to another. Currently, more than 15 thousand of our citizens of Kurdish origin have been forced to change 8 places, i.e. camps with tents, in the first 4 years of their stay in Northern Iraq. There is no life like that; I like it here, I will stay here. Get up, get down, get up, get down, walk, walk, stay, stay. This is the law of this job. Once you put the paldum in someone's hands, that's it.  The word "paldum", which has stayed in my mind, used to mean a lot in the past. The strap or rope that is tied under the tail of the animal to prevent the 'palan' laid on the animal from sliding forward is called "paldum" in rural areas. Have you tied your fate to someone? You will be swallowed with your machete and paldum. You are surely familiar with the photos of Gaza published on social media. Some of you may remember the torture of naked detention of Palestinians by Israel. Think about the detentions of men who were forced by the Israeli army to strip down to their underwear, kneeling in the street, blindfolded and forced into military vehicles in the dead of winter. I was startled when I saw children wandering barefoot in the icy snow in Idlib. This is what orphanhood looks like. In the Republic of Turkey, 'the orphan of the orphans', no citizen would be in this situation, no child would be 'hungry and left behind', let us not forget the existence of this blessing, dear readers. 

It is difficult, it is a difficult craft, to decide on the continuation of the circle of life by those whose fate is between someone's two lips. The next thing you know, the order comes from above and you are liquidated where you are. And life is not a quality life, it is a kind of slavery to live with your neck bent all the time. Just like our brothers and sisters in Gaza who live in an open-air prison, just like the former "Ottoman subjects" who are condemned to live in the Idlib camp and who have been swept under the rug for years without being confronted. Can you ever perceive going to the Turkish border on a weekend vacation, looking at the Turkish flag and feeling sad. I know this very well from Syria. Afterwards, I know what it means to wipe the tears from your eyes on the Turkish flag that you take out of your bosom. That flag was given to her as a gift by her father when she became a bride and by her father-in-law at her circumcision. May Allah never leave anyone without a flag, without a homeland, without a homeland. May He not make them stateless and Haymatlos. 65 percent of the people living in Makhmur Camp are women and children. Therefore, let's put aside the issue of where these people, who will become 'refugees' after the camp is closed, will go. Pleasant UN officials have now withdrawn from Makhmur. 

Located 100 kilometers from Erbil, the UN-controlled Makhmur Camp is located in Mosul, Iraq. Makhmur is outside the administrative division of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq. Although it is located in the region under the Iraqi Central Government, all central government security forces working in Makhmur camp are Iraqi Kurds. Although the camp is politically dependent on Baghdad, the governor of Makhmur is appointed by the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Halil Rifat Pasha said it well: "A place where you cannot make your presence felt is not yours." He said. It is a proverb, an aphorism, a maxim. Indeed, "A place is not yours where you cannot go, where you cannot reach, where you cannot touch, where you cannot make your presence felt."  But the district governor does not interfere much in the internal affairs of the camp. Once a year, the residents of the camp elect a 60-member list, or people's assembly, and the mayor, who are nominated by PeKaKa. The population of 12,000 obeys to the letter all the decisions taken by the 60-member management team in the Makhmur camp. This is a true act of allegiance. Now they ask the man. Why didn't you obey when you were in Turkey? You were showing civil disobedience, passive resistance to the laws of the Republic of Turkey, to the administration of the people appointed by the state and to the people of your own choice, so do it now, if you can. No journalist is allowed into the camp without the permission of the administration, as this is an instruction from PeKaKa. 

Why I have explained in detail about Makhmur is because the Palestinian people know all about this kind of administration. For 75 years, the people of Gaza, who have been thrown from wall to wall by the "Ethnic Cleansing" that has been applied to them like a guinea pig, know this very well. The Palestinian people have learned the lessons of the past and have internalized what will happen to them very well. As long as the US remains in the region, it knows that the problem is much bigger and gigantic than Palestine and Israel. If it were not aware of this, would it want to return to this hell, to the bottom of it, the day it was freed from the Ofer Prison, the home of atrocities, where it stayed for forty years and forty-three years? He wants to return and he is returning. And he returns by kissing the earth. This, dear readers, is the feeling of having nowhere else to go. 

In one way or another, for whom are the bells ringing now? For the people of Gaza, make no mistake. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is deeply concerned about Israel's plan to forcibly expel Palestinians, specifically the population of Gaza. (2) Despite the international public support for Israel's rejection of the expulsion plan, Cairo is preparing for a scenario of "expulsion of the population of the Gaza Strip to the Sinai Peninsula", which is being voiced not only behind closed doors, but on almost every platform. Since the beginning of the war, last October, the Israeli army has been urging civilians living in the north of the Gaza Strip to move south, close to the Egyptian border, and since the beginning of the "humanitarian pause" in reality and the ceasefire in practice, Israel has not allowed most of the displaced to return to their homes. This is clear evidence that "exile" has begun.  The clear meaning of "exile" is an "Ottoman Holocaust", the subject of Prof. Justin McCarthy's book "Exile &Death".  Exile and death are intertwined and unique to this geography.  The phrase "Ottoman Holocost" belongs to my good friend, Prof. Dr. Stanford Shaw, a Jewish American Prof. Dr. Stanford Shaw, God rest his soul. 

On October 13, 2023, the Israeli media published a document attributed to the Israeli Ministry of Intelligence, suggesting the transfer of the civilian population of Gaza to North Sinai and claiming that such a plan would be best for Israel's long-term security. (2)

According to former Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Salah Khalime, speaking to Al-Awsat, "Egypt has repeatedly rejected efforts to forcibly transfer Palestinians to Egyptian territory, and has also openly opposed Israeli plans for forced evictions from the very beginning. Egypt's stance and consistency has succeeded in building international support against forced displacement, whether from the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, and putting an end to Israeli attempts to disrupt the demographic situation of the population in the Palestinian territories in order to annex more land." (2)

In addition to resorting to pressure through various international organizations to support Egypt's position of rejecting the displacement, Prof. Ahmed Abu Al-Wefa, an expert in international law at Cairo University, told Al-Sharq al-Awsat that Egypt has the right to appeal to the Security Council and that under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter, the United States is obliged to take the necessary measures to prevent the displacement process. These measures are reportedly divided into two types: military and non-military actions against Israel. (2) However, even if such a decision is limited to non-military measures of cutting trade relations with Israel and other measures of a civilian nature, Abu al-Wefa noted that this is not an easy matter, especially given the current situation in Israel. 

Dr. Hamid Faris, an expert on international relations, believes that the Egyptian movements, in coordination with the European Union and the United States, "have succeeded in mobilizing international rejection of the displacement plans, a mobilization in which Arab and Islamic countries play an important role. But this is not possible, of course. So there is talk of the need to bring more aid to the Gaza Strip and to open corridors for the delivery of this aid. Faris believes that Egypt's firm rejection of the displacement of Gaza's population will open all options to protect Egypt's sovereignty and national security." (2) 

As a matter of fact, all of these are only the surface images. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's comments have added a new color to these apparent images. The Egyptian leader reacted strongly to the idea of forcing the people of Gaza to migrate en masse to Egypt, calling it the first step in "a similar exodus from the West Bank to Jordan". This implies a tacit request for support from Jordan. In the sense of the Arab world, this is the approach of "I'm telling you, my daughter, you understand!". Egyptian leader Sisi continued this approach as follows: (3)

"The idea of forcing Gazans to move to Egypt would lead to a similar displacement of Palestinians living in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, making it impossible to establish a Palestinian state."  

The resettlement of Gazans in Sinai frightens Sisi more than anything else. It is so obvious that the resettlement of Gazans, or in other words HAMAS, a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, in Egypt is seen as a direct blow to Sisi's legitimacy.  The presence of HAMAS on one side of Sisi's struggle with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is a direct threat to his power.  

Yes, dear readers, no state in the Middle East, especially Israel and Syria, wants to deal with what is swept under the rug in their own words. Let us not forget that dictatorial states are not only extremely worried about what they have swept under the carpet, but also seek to export to other countries all the problems they have turned into Arab hair. For example, it is a state policy of Syria, of the Baath party, to export terrorism. Even France has issued an international arrest warrant against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad and two other high-ranking officials for the use of banned chemical weapons against civilians, which is considered a "crime against humanity" under the UN Genocide Convention. There should be an avalanche of similar issues against Netenyahu and his Zionist Authority. No one should have the luxury of sitting on their hands or watching this kind of behavior, which is tantamount to the phrase "cleaning their bowels". Because everything that has been swept under the rug, or rather, whatever has been swept under the rug, has accumulated there, has multiplied and multiplied. The screenwriter and the main actors of the movie have decided to export it to Turkey in the case of Idlib and to Egypt in the case of Gaza. Let us not forget that there are other similar versions of this movie. Let us not get stuck on the extras, dear readers, even if it is just this one time or one time only. 

Footnotes

(1) Edip Başer, Kanatsız Uçmak, Remzi Kitabevi, İstanbul, Eylül 2014, s.308

(2) İndependent Türkçe, “Mısır Gazze halkının tehcir planından endişeli”, 28 Kasım 2023; https://www.indyturk.com/node/677576/d%C3%BCnya/m%C4%B1s%C4%B1r-gazze-halk%C4%B1n%C4%B1n-tehcir-plan%C4%B1ndan-endi%C5%9Feli/ Erişim Tarihi 10.12.2023/

(3) https://tr.euronews.com/2023/10/18/misir-lideri-sisi-filistinlilerin-topraklarindan-surulmesini-reddediyoruz/Erişim Tarihi 10.12.2023/