Ahmet Kaplan
09 July 2020•Update: 10 July 2020
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey
The mothers staging a sit-in in southeastern Turkey were all smiles on Thursday after one of their children returned breaking free from the YPG/PKK, a terror group notorious for kidnapping and recruiting teenagers.
Dozens of mothers launched the protest on Sept. 3, 2019 in the province of Diyarbakir outside the office of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which the government accuses of having links to the YPG/PKK terror group.
The families are now more hopeful for the return of their children as Ramazan, son of Cemal Ertas who is physically disabled, surrendered to security forces.
Necibe Ciftci, one of the mothers, said the protest had been continuing for 311 days despite all the difficulties.
"We continue fighting for our children. They [PKK] martyred one of my children, and my little one was abducted from school and taken to the mountains," said Ciftci.
Accusing the HDP of handing her child to the terror group, she called on all suffering mothers to unite against the PKK.
"Today, the 14th family finally got their children back, we all cheered and became happy. God willing, our children will return just like this," she said.
Aynur Panay, a mother demanding the return of her son, made a statement in Kurdish and urged mothers to join the protest.
Panay blamed the HDP for the abduction of her child and said she was determined to continue her protest until her son was returned.
Abdullah Demir, a father participating in the protest for his son who was abducted five years ago, said he would not give up on the protest until his son was brought back. Demir went on to say that the return of Ramazan became a source of joy and motivation for all the protesting families.
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. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian branch.
* Writing by Ali Murat Alhas
