In WWI, 150 thousand of our soldiers were captured by the British. And some of these soldiers were imprisoned in Seydibesir Useray-i Harbiye Camp (1) near the city of Alexandria in Egypt. The full name of the camp was "Seydibesir Kuveysna Osmanli Useray-i Harbiye (2) Kampi". In this camp, the Ottoman soldiers of 16th Division's 48th Regiment who were captured at the Palestine fronts in 1918 were interned. For two years until June 12th, 1920, they were subjected to any kind of torture, oppression, heavy insults and humiliation.
The reason for this inhumane treatment was the Armenians.
The British commanders of the camp, because of the wrong, mendacious translations and provocations of Armenian translators who knew Turkish, had become fierce Turk enemies.
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The war was over. Nevertheless, to release the soldiers besides the ones who died because of heavy conditions in the camp was not to the benefit of the British. Because the British were brainwashed by Armenians, being told that in a potential new war they could come up against these soldiers again. The solution was massacre…
Our soldiers, forced by bayonets, were put in disinfection pools with the excuse of wiping out germs. But the chemical, krizol, was added a lot more than normal in the water. Even just when they put their feet, our soldiers got scalded. However, the British troops didn't let them get out of the pool by threatening with rifles (3).
Our soldiers didn't want to put their heads under the water that reached waist level. But then the British started shooting in the air. Our soldiers knelt and put their heads under water not to die.
But the ones who got their heads out of the water couldn't see any more. Because the eyes were burned…The resistance of our soldiers who saw what happened to the ones that got out was no use and our 15 thousand men got blinded.
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This savagery was discussed in May 25th, 1921, in the Turkish Great National Assembly. The congressmen Mr. Faik and Mr. Seref proposed that 15 thousand sons of this country were blinded in Egypt by being put in the "krizol" pool; and wanted the Assembly to make an attempt for punishment of the British physicians, commanders and soldiers who were guilty of this act.
Of course the newly founded government had a thousand other problems. Demanding an explanation for this act was easily forgotten.
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But they don't forget. They show even their own betrayal as a fact of genocide and present it to the world.
The most regrettable of all is that some people, you know who, are also behind, supporting these defamation campaigns.
Sinan AYGUN – The President of ATO
With great thanks to the translation of Ms. Damla Ozdemir.
This article is from the book "Katran Kazanında Sterilize" ("Sterilized in Tar Cauldron") by Imge Publications, written by Ahmet Duru who revealed the diary of the sub-lieutenant Ahmet Altinay from Karaman…
(1) "Useray": unknown.
(2) "Kuveysna" unknown as well.
(3) "Dipçik darbeleri" has no exact English equivalent. Basically it means that they were threatened with rifles; not exactly, though.
