Battle of Sakarya, between Eskişehir and Ankara (late
August-early September 1921). The soldier was captured
near Bursa and ended up on Milos Island, perhaps the
worst of the worst of Greek POW camps.//
Our Prisoners on Milos Island
Yenice Battalion’s Sixth Detachment Commander Dikici İsmail
Usta’s
Statement:
Together with a few companions, I was taken prisoner during
a clash in
Ağaçhisar on 12 September 1921 with Kütahya Gendarmerie
Commander
Kabakcı Salih Efe, his cohort Topal Saaduddin and their
helpers. We were then taken to Tavşanlı village and
imprisoned in a
barbed wire-fenced area.
While our statements were being taken, 3 of
my companions – Laz İsmail,
Sayman Çavuş and Yenişehirli Hüseyin –
were killed by blows from a barbed wire
whip.
This POW was captured near Orhaneli, center left, taken to
Tavşanlı and then to Kütahya.
From there we were taken to
Kütahya and after staying in a cellar full
of water for 48 hours, we were
transferred to a room soiled with blood.
This room, which at first glance was understood the be the Moslem
slaughterhouse, was where an artillery captain and a first lieutenant
were
killed, as were Kütahya merchant Ömer Ağazade Cemil, Hasan
Dedezade Ahmed
Hulusi, the former commander of the Simav
Detachment and a resident of Turgutlu
town, Kütahya farm owner
Hasan and Ketencizade Bezaz Mustafa. Subsequently, I was taken to
Bursa and on 4
September I was boarded onto a ship at Mudanya and
transported amid all sorts
of torture to Salonica.
The writer was transported from Mudanya, near Bursa, to
Salonica (Thessaloniki), to Athens and finally to Milos Island
In fact, because
of the crowding and torture on the ship, 8 poor souls
died and their bodies
were thrown into the sea. During the
time I was
held in the Beyaz Kale (White Fortress) in Salonica I saw my
co-
religionists die from hunger, thirst and torture. Hacı Süleyman, from
Bursa’s Arabayatağı
quarter, was beaten to death with a club.
As soon
as the Greeks learned that we had made complaints to the Allied
representative in Salonica, the quickly
put us on a ship to Piraeus.
Those who
were shut in the holds below decks and desperate because
of the crowding,
stormed the deck. At the front of the
charge were
Süleyman Çavuş of Kestanealanı village in İnegöl, Tevfik Çavuş of
Hayriye village and Nuri Bey of Kirazlı village, all of whom were
bayonetted. Süleyman Çavuş’s body was
thrown into the sea.
On 1 December 1923, we were transported to Milos
Island. The
cruelties inflicted on the
prisoners was evident from their appearance.
They were sent to forced labor from morning till evening, despite
being
broken from hunger and thirst. Thew were
made to work like
animals and there was no respite from beatings and
curses. Fever
and typhoid were rampant and many Moslems died from these
diseases. The Greek Government saw no
need to taken even the
slightest measure in this regard.
We confirm the aforementioned’s statements.
Chief of the Commission to Verify Atrocities, Major Abidin
Member: First Lieutenant Abdullah
Member: Osman, Administrative Chief of the Police
Directorate
//END of PART XV//
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder