Turkey: Mothers’ sit-in against YPG/PKK enters 76th day

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

A protest held by dozens of families in southeastern Turkey against YPG/PKK terrorists connected to an opposition party on Sunday entered its 76th day.

The protest started in September when a mother, Fevziye Cetinkaya, said her underage son had been forcibly recruited by YPG/PKK terrorists with the help of members of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), a party accused by the government of having links to the terrorist group.

Since then, the number of protesting families has been growing, as they demand the return of their children, who, they say, were deceived or kidnapped by PKK terrorists.

One of the mothers, Necibe Ciftci, told Anadolu Agency that she would continue her sit-in protest until the return of her son, who was forcibly kidnapped in 2014.

She added that her husband Sami Ciftci was executed by PKK terrorists in 2017 for his decision not to support them.

“I’m not leaving until I hear from my boy,” she said.

“My boy would be in school… He wanted to be a teacher or policeman, but he didn’t get the chance,” she said. “We were born under the flag of Turkey, and will die there,” she added.

Yasin Kaya, a father whose daughter was kidnapped by the PKK in 2015 when she was 17, called on parents with similar experiences to join the protest.

Kaya said he had not heard from his daughter for four years, and he cannot help wondering about the fate of his beloved child.

“My daughter would tell me ‘I want to be a Turkish literature teacher.’ My child, flee the PKK terror group and surrender to Turkey,” he said. “We have been here for 76 days, and will continue our protest even if it takes 76 years!”

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union -- has been responsible for deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

* Writing by Ali Murat Alhas