‘Families’ solidarity will end PKK terrorism for good’

By Ali Murat Alhas

ANKARA (AA) – The determination of protesters in Turkey's Diyarbakir province against the PKK terror group, and their common suffering has paved the way for strong friendships, helping them endure the absence of their beloved children.

The sit-in is continuing since Sept. 3, 2019, outside the office of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which the families blame for having a role in their children's abduction by the PKK. The Turkish government also accuses the party of having links to the terror group.

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.

The demonstration began when Fevziye Cetinkaya, Remziye Akkoyun, and Aysegul Bicer said their children had been forcibly recruited by the PKK. Since then, it has drawn countless parents from across Turkey, demanding the return of their sons and daughters.

Hediye Okcu and Gullu Turan are two mothers whose daughters were forcibly abducted by the terror group.

Frustrated with the continued absence of their children, and not knowing their fate, they left their home town in Tunceli province, and joined the protesters, thus developing close friendship in which they find solace.

“My 20-year-old daughter was studying tourism in a university when she was taken away by the terrorists," Okcu told Anadolu Agency. "I was shocked as our family had absolutely no part in anything political."

Ever since, she added, "there is nothing but pain and suffering, both for my family and myself... peace left our house, it is only sadness and sorrow there.”

The 55-year-old said she could relate to every protesting parent since their young have been “brainwashed by the PKK propaganda."

“We suffer from the same pain... we were shedding tears for the same reason in different provinces at different hours, without knowing each other. Now we are not alone, and ready to fight together as a single family,” she said. “Families’ solidarity, sincerity will end PKK terrorism for good.”

Turan said her daughter was 17 at the time of the abduction in 2015 and studied at a boarding school.

"Disappearance of my child was shocking and unexpected," she said, describing her youngster as "shy" and "introvert."

“Alev was a smart and silent one, I still cannot believe she was brainwashed to join the terror group which targets our soldiers and police," she said. "She was planning to be an English teacher."

Many of the families come from moderate backgrounds and have made sacrifices for their children's education -- something which also brings them together.

“Many of us here have similar backgrounds and living conditions, and understand each other very well as our pain is similar," Turan said. "I feel blessed that these people here do not have any hidden agendas, and are contributing with sincerity. May Allah bless every one of them."