Families march against PKK terrorists in eastern Turkey

By Ozkan Bilgin

VAN, Turkey (AA) - In Turkey's eastern province of Van, grieving families whose children were kidnapped by YPG/PKK terrorists staged a rally on Friday.

Fourteen families came together carrying banners saying: "Enough is enough, get off our back" and "Our children are not pawns".

The families marched to the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) office, shouting slogans against the terrorist organization PKK and HDP and urged their children to surrender.

HDP is a Turkish opposition party, which the government accuses of having close ties with PKK terrorists.

Nazli Sancar, whose daughter Seyma Sancar was abducted by the PKK, said she wants to reunite with her daughter.

“We are here to meet our children, but they play loud music in their office to muffle our voices," she said referring to the HDP workers.

“We want our children's suffering to end,” she added.

Another mother, Rukeyda Adiyaman said that her daughter was abducted when she was 8 years old.

“I want my daughter from the HDP and PKK. I haven't seen her for years,” she added.

The protest first began on Sept. 3, 2019, in the southeastern Diyarbakir province when three mothers said their children had been forcibly recruited by YPG/PKK terrorists. The protest has since been growing and spreading to other parts of 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.

*Writing by Havva Kara Aydin