//Ed. Note: This report is something of a comprehensive
one, filled with horrific details and mentions of traitors
who went over to the Greek side.//
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Other than a few ill individuals whose identities are not
known, no one
is left at the prison camps on Milos and Sakız, at Kalidar near
Athens,
Lusid, Larrisa, Mustafa Paşa Fortress at Hanya (Crete), Dedeağaç and
Patra. The return of the sick ones is
expected soon, as well. However,
based on a reliable intelligence source, it has been confirmed that
traitors from my
barracks in Salonica named Halil of Küre
and Hacı
Veli, the former Karaviran principal, and that traitors formed a gang
in
the service of the Greeks at Gümülcine, as well.
In addition, based on the statement of Ali
Osmanoğlu Ahmed of
Söğüt’s Esri village, who was at the Losya camp, one of
the prisoners
at the aformentioned camp from Trabzon and another named Saatçı
Ahmedüçüncüsü of Izmir began wearing hats, married Greek girls
and remained
there.
At the Dedeağaç prison camp, there were about 1,000
prisoners.
Their clothing and food was
quite bad and they were made to stay
in the rain without any roof over
them. Consequently, many of them
became
ill and then died from the cold and ill treatment at the
hospital. Tavşanlızade of Söğütlü, was sentenced to 101 years in
Eskişehir for his service to the National Independence Army.
Additionally, some individuals from Izmit and
the surrounding area
were brought to the Zeytun Fortress in Hanya and sentenced
to
prison terms of varying lengths for the same reason.
The 1,000 prisoners held at Mustafa Paşa Fortress in Hanya (Crete)
were beaten and degraded by the guards for no reason. Based on the
statement of Mehmedoğlu Salim of
Burecik village in Söğüt, it is
understood that the deputy regimental commander
came to the
fortress every other day with his gun in his hand and threatened
the
soldiers with death. When a group of
50 prisoners came to
Dedeağaç, Armenians from Anatolia attacked them with
rocks,
bombs and guns, killing two of them.
The rest of the prisoners were
rescued by the Greek officers.
Milos Island is at bottom left.
The abovementioned camps’ clothing and food provision were
irregular.
Based on the statements of Mehmedoğlu İbrahim of Söğüt’s İnhisar
town and Hasanoğlu Hafız Mehmed, 3,000 prisoners died in 3.5 months
at the camp
at Milos, where bad air and thirst were prevalent. Even
though the prisoners found a cave filled
with water, they had to buy a
can of water for 1.5 franks. The prisoners were very badly treated at
this camp by the Thracians, who gave one
okka ((2.8 lbs)) of bread to
16 prisoners.
According to the statement by Hüseyinoğlu Osman of Hisar
village,
there were 50 prisoners at the camp on Sakız Island. At night the
Greek soldiers would come, make
the prisoners lie on the ground,
threaten them with death and take their
money. According to the
statements of
Mustafaoğlu Ali, Mustafaoğlu İbrahim, Aliosmanoğlu
İsmail and Aliosmanoğlu
İbrahim, all of them from Söğüt’s Küre
village, when the Thracians came to the
Milos camp, their leaders
gave 81 prisoners over to the Abazas, who had fled
Anatolia, and
these traitors killed the prisoners in the most gruesome way,
throwing their bodies in a nearby cave afterwards. The
witnesses
saw that victims had neckties put around their necks and there were
knife and bayonet wounds on the lifeless bodies. At this same camp,
according
to the statement of a Thracian with a broken arm and the
aforementioned 4
witnesses from Küre, some 1,800 Thracians were
boarded onto a very small and
narrow ship. The Greeks, using the
excuse that some prisoners had died in a stampede below decks
caused by a
murder, actually threw 600 prisoners into the sea at the
Milos camp while they
were still alive. Many of them drowned
in
the water and only the aforementioned witnesses were saved.
Beyaz Kale (White Fortress) at Salonica (Thessaloniki)
Again, based on statements of these same individuals, when
they
were at the Beyaz Fortress in Salonica, about 600 prisoners were
ordered
to be moved and a group of 150 of them, including the
witnesses, tied up the
captain and crew during the voyage and
asked 3 Turkish captains on board to
take them to Izmir. However,
when these individuals were being split up and
boarded onto two
ships the Greeks responded and put all the prisoners into one
ship,
stuffed them into the hold and only provided them water in return
for
money. Very few of the prisoners were
allowed to leave to
relieve themselves.
Since the Greeks were well aware of the
prisoners’ weak points, they
were happy to publicly humiliate
them in this way. Upon arrival in Athens, the prisoners were
kept
on the ship and the Athens government was informed about what
had
happened. So as punishment, the prisoners
were taken to Milos,
famous for its putrid air and lack of water.
14 June1923
Team Acting Commander
Ömer
