Turkey's main opposition party head backs families staging anti-PKK sit-in

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - The leader of Turkey's main opposition party voiced support on Tuesday for a group of mothers and relatives protesting in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir against the PKK terrorist organization for forcibly recruiting and abducting their children.

"The Diyarbakir mothers are right. No mother would want her child to join a terrorist organization with gun in hand. We need to understand those mothers and share their pain," Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the head of Republican People's Party (CHP), told his party's parliamentary group.

Kilicdaroglu said his party did not discriminate against any person or group, adding that the protesting mothers' demands concerning their children were very important.

"We should contribute to this. I'm not talking about discrimination. I'm talking about embracing, togetherness, unity," he said.

The protest began on Sept. 3, 2019, with parents staging a sit-in outside the office of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) which they accuse of playing a role in their children's disappearance. The Turkish government accuses the HDP of having links to the PKK terror group.​​​​​​​

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