Sukru Gunduz
October 22, 2019•Update: October 22, 2019
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey
Families’ sit-in protest in front of a political party office in southeastern Turkey continues as they hope to reunite with their children kidnapped by the YPG/PKK terror group.
The protest outside the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) office in Diyarbakir entered its 50th day on Tuesday, with many families joining forces against the PKK terrorists since Sept. 3.
Aysegul Bicer, the mother of Muhammed who was allegedly kidnapped to be recruited by the YPG/PKK, told Anadolu Agency that she would not leave the protest until her son returned home.
“We do not bow down to the threats, we are not afraid of them,” she said.
“We have started this protest to demand our children’s return, and we will continue till the end,” Bicer added.
Expressing families’ pain as they worry for their children, Bicer said the protest would not end until the return of their children.
Husniye Kaya, who joined the protest for her daughter Mekiye, also shared her grief over five-year-long longing for daughter, who was 14 year-old when she was kidnapped.
“They do not have any mercy. I will not leave here before getting my child back,” Kaya said.
On Aug. 22, a Kurdish mother Hacire Akar staged a protest near the HDP office in Diyarbakir, claiming that her 21-year-old son was taken to the mountains by the YPG/PKK terrorists after being brainwashed by the party members.
Her son returned home four days later, giving hope to a number of mothers who suffer the same circumstances.
On Sept. 3, another mother, Fevziye Cetinkaya, started a protest saying that her son was forcibly recruited by the YPG/PKK, immediately joined by other mothers. Since then, the number of families in front of the building is growing.
The families, who come from different provinces across Turkey, asserted their children either were kidnapped or deceived before going to the nearby mountains to join the terror group.
*Writing by Sena Guler
