Arrest of Makhmour delegation sparks public anger amid ongoing siege

In a significant achievement in the present crisis in Martyr Rustum Judy refugee camp in Nineveh Governorate, Makhmur district, Iraq, Iraqi forces arrested a People's Council delegation in Makhmur on Wednesday evening upon their return from Baghdad following an official meeting with the Iraqi Ministry of Justice to resolve the ID card crisis and the camp siege.

The delegation had appeared in Baghdad yesterday in a move to pursue solutions to the prohibitions that had been placed on residents of the camp, among them those relating to the refusal to renew ID cards, ban against building materials to be brought into the camp, and interfering with the movement of workers. The prohibitions had been in place since April 10, aggravating the misery of residents of the camp.

Filiz Budak, co-chairman of the Makhmur People's Council, maintained that the delegation had formally asked to see the Ministry of Justice and this had been accepted on an unconditional basis. But after the meeting was finished and the delegation left Baghdad, its members were dismayed to find themselves arrested by the Iraqi security forces. Three of them were arrested without any official reason being given as to why this was done.

Popular Rejection

The action sparked outrage among the camp residents, numbering hundreds of them, who protested the increasing pressure of the Iraqi government in a mass demonstration organized this morning. They denounced the blockade, the ban on movement and work, and the denial of renewal of their official ID cards, which put them into an insecure legal standing and deteriorating living conditions.

Protesters chanted slogans, of which the most prominent was "Long live the Makhmur resistance," and marched to the central military checkpoint, where they announced their disavowal of such policies. Following a rapid field bargaining with the Iraqis, the release of arrested delegation members was promised within a few hours, which the protesters deemed an insufficient first measure. The camp residents also set up a tent in protest near the checkpoint, stating that their campaign of protest will go on until the actual release of all detainees. The protesters reaffirmed their determination to continue their peaceful struggle to regain their rights and lift the siege imposed for more than a month, which has frozen daily life within the camp to a virtual standstill.

The Martyr Rustum Judy refugee camp in Makhmur has been subjected to an unprecedented siege by Iraqi authorities since April 10. Importation of building materials has been banned, daily movement of the workers obstructed, and official residence cards for the camp dwellers refused, aggravating the refugees' woes there.

Up to now, the Iraqi government has remained silent on whether to make any official statements or declarations about the detention of the reasons for the delegation or future handling of the Makhmur camp residents' humanitarian demands.

T/S

ANHA