Turkey: PKK attempts to smear anti-terrorist protest

By Muhammed Boztepe

ANKARA (AA) - The PKK terrorist organization has launched a media campaign to smear an ongoing sit-in protest in southeastern Turkey against the terror group.

A sit-in protest by families seeking the return of their children kidnapped by the YPG/PKK terror organization entered its 505th day on Tuesday.

According to security sources, the so-called leaders of the terror group have banned its members from watching television due to the protest, while they also mobilized media outlets backing the terrorist group to slander them.

Through these media organs, the PKK is producing fake news to slander the protests.

Supporters of the terror group have produced fake news reports claiming that police offered 10,000 Turkish liras ($1,340) to a woman, H. Sever, to join the sit-in outside the provincial office of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which the government accuses of having links to the PKK.

Security forces met once with father I. Sever to help convince his children -- Rojda Sever, codenamed Amara Viyan and Rozerin Sever codenamed Amara Beritan -- to surrender.

Upon his reluctance, security forces did not contact father Sever again.

It was also reported that security forces never met with the mother H. Sever.

Since 2016, 874 members of PKK have surrendered solely by persuasion, according to the security sources.

So far, 22 families have reunited with their children due to the sit-in.

The protest began on Sept. 3, 2019 in the southeastern Diyarbakir province when three mothers said YPG/PKK terrorists had forcibly recruited their children. It has been growing every day.

In its more than 30-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 some 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.