Border lives: Bamarne
Turkish Base,barmane area
Amedi District: Bamarne
Bamarne is approximately 24km (15mile) from the Turkish border. There are 29 villages with 1,715 families around Bamarne.
Two Turkish bases stand outside Bamarne: a small base stands on a hill, just southwest of the town and a large base is located on a road less than half a kilometer southeast of the town. All traffic moving into and out of Bamarne is observed by these two bases. Both bases were established in 1996, during the civil war between the two main Kurdish parties, through an agreement with the KDP. A villager reported , “The agreement has expired, but the Turkish military refuses to leave." One source reports that the Turkish military gave the landlords a one-time payment of $300 each for rent. They promised to pay $300 every year, but no further rent payments have been forthcoming.
The Military bases have affected ordinary people in Bamarne. Harassments have included:
• Twice a year, summer and autumn before the harvest, Turkish soldiers burn the fields around the base using tank-fire. The most recent incident occurred during the fourth week of October 2009. About 100 apple and almond trees were incinerated by Turkish military.
• Turkish soldiers shoot at farmers retrieving animals near the base.
• Packs of dogs belonging to the Turkish military roam the area. The dogs attack animals belonging to farmers. In 2008, ten sheep were killed by the dogs. The dogs often roam along the way where the children walk to school.
• Every day the Turkish military drive tanks from the base below the town, along the main road to the observation base on the hill, frightening the people.
• A Christian man reported that during the spring or summer of 2008, a number of bombs exploded near Inishky (a village between Bamarne and Amedi), and that the closest one landed about 60 meters away from the village. His wife fainted out of fear when the explosion happened and he took her to the hospital.
~CPT (2010) "Where there is a promise, there is a tragedy", p.21.
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From barmane area