Turkey: Parents wait for PKK-abducted kids for 310 days

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

A sit-in protest of families in southeastern Turkey entered its 310th day on Wednesday, with demonstrators demanding an allegedly terror-linked political party free their children from the YPG/PKK terror group.

The protest started on Sept. 3 outside the offices of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), a party accused by the government of having links to the YPG/PKK, in Diyarbakir when Fevziye Cetinkaya, Remziye Akkoyun, and Aysegul Bicer said their children had been forcibly recruited by PKK terrorists.

The sit-in of families has been growing day by day with the participation of many others since then.

Protesters have vowed to stay there until every family reunites with their child.

Songul Altintas, a mother whose child was abducted by the terror group, said she will resolutely continue to stage a sit-in until she meets her son.

Underlining that some kidnapped children returned to their families as they saw them protesting, Altintas urged all families whose children were abducted to join the protest.

“I want my son back from the HDP and PKK. Another family rejoined their child. We are all thrilled,” she said.

Tahir Ciftci, a father whose daughter was kidnapped two years ago in the southeastern Hakkari province, said HDP deceives children to take them to the mountain.

Stressing that his daughter was 11 years old when she was kidnapped, he said he is looking forward to meeting her again.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. YPG is its offshoot in Syria.

* Writing by Gozde Bayar in Ankara