Turkey: Mothers’ anti-PKK sit-in protest continues

By Osman Bilgin

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (AA) – More than one-and-a-half year has passed since mothers, whose children were abducted by PKK terror group and its Syrian offshoot YPG, began their sit-in protest in Turkey’s southeastern Diyarbakir province.

The protest began on Sept. 3, 2019, when three mothers said their children had been forcibly recruited by PKK terrorists. The sit-in outside the office of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which the government accuses of having links to the PKK, has been growing since then in Diyarbakir province.

Nihal Ciftci, one of the protesters, said her son was 14 years old when he was abducted in southeastern Hakkari province.

“I went to the HDP [office] when my son disappeared. They showed me a list. They said ‘your son went to the PKK’, Why would my son’s name be on that list if the HDP did not support? How come the HDP knows my son went to the PKK?” she questioned.

“My son, Emircan, come back. We are waiting for you with your sibling […] Come, surrender to our security forces. Our state is merciful,” she said.

Aydan Arslan, another woman whose daughter was abducted by the terror group in 2015, accused the HDP of tricking her child and said she would not leave the protest until she reunites with her daughter.

So far, at least 24 families have reunited with their children who fled the terror group and surrendered to Turkish security sources. Offenders who are linked to terrorist groups and surrender are eligible for possible sentence reductions under a repentance law in Turkey.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.