Another family joins anti-PKK sit-in in southeastern Turkey

By Osman Bilgin

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (AA) - One more family has joined the ongoing sit-in against the PKK terrorist group in southeastern Turkey on Friday.

Families of children abducted or forcibly recruited by the PKK terror group have been protesting in the Diyarbakir province since Sept. 3, 2019, encouraging their children to give up their weapons and surrender to Turkish authorities.

The protest outside the office of the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which the government accuses of having links to the PKK, had started with three mothers who said their children had been forcibly recruited by the terrorists.

Coming from northeastern Kars province, Nazime Toptas, the mother of Dogan Ali, who was abducted and taken to the mountains five years ago, joined the protest on Friday.

Toptas said that her son was deceived while he was in Istanbul.

She said she has not heard from her son for five years and urged her son to surrender to Turkish security forces.

“I went to the HDP building but they did not allow me to go inside. They kicked me out ... I want my son back from the HDP,” she said.

Offenders in Turkey linked to terrorist groups who surrender are eligible for possible sentence reductions under a repentance law.

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 at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.​​​​​​​

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