Turkey: Mothers' anti YPG/PKK protest enters Day-500

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

A sit-in protest by families seeking the return of their children kidnapped by the YPG/PKK terror group entered its 500th day on Thursday in Turkey.

The protest began on Sept. 3, 2019 in the southeastern Diyarbakir province when three mothers said YPG/PKK terrorists had forcibly recruited their children.

The sit-in outside the provincial office of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) -- which the government accuses of having links to the terrorist YPG/PKK -- has been growing every day. The number of sit-in protesters has since reached 188.

Families resolutely continue their protest despite threats from HDP members and sympathizers and extreme weather conditions.

Even the pandemic could not dissuade them from their efforts.

The protest has drawn the attention of state officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, First Lady Emine Erdogan, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and prominent sports and television personalities.

The protest also created ripples in Europe. Nilufer T., whose daughter was abducted by PKK/YPG in Germany, started a protest in front of a pro-PKK association on Feb. 29, 2020. She eventually moved her protest in front of the Chancellor’s Office in the German capital city Berlin.

Families speak out

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Turkan Mutlu, whose daughter was abducted by PKK seven years ago, said that she is determined to take her daughter back.

Another protesting mother, Songul Altintas, whose son was abducted six years ago, talked about why she was participating in the sit-in protests.

“We will stay here until there are no children left in the mountains. This is the only way for Kurds to get rid of PKK. If HDP were a party of Turkey, a party of Kurds, they would have supported me,” she said.

Zekiye Bozdag, one of the earliest protesters, remarked that 22 families reunited with their children due to the sit-in.

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.