DIYARBAKIR, Türkiye
Organized by Anadolu, an exhibition featuring 42 photographs of Turkish mothers who are part of anti-PKK protests, opened in Türkiye's southeastern city of Diyarbakir on Tuesday.
The Moment When Time Stops For Diyarbakir Mothers exhibition at the historical landmark of Keci Burcu displays the longing felt by Diyarbakir mothers for their children. They are staging sit-ins outside the offices of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) for their sons and daughters abducted and taken to the mountains.
The exhibition, which runs till Feb. 14, was opened by Diyarbakir Governor Ali Ihsan Su, and Anadolu's Director General Serdar Karagoz.
Su said reporters and photographers of Anadolu captured the anguish, sadness, and dreams of the mothers, hoping that the public display "will help save our children who are in the hands of terror groups, as well as console our mothers and end their agony."
For his part, Karagoz said the only objective of the protesting mothers is to save their children from terrorist organizations and keep them alive and praised their resistance.
"A mother's heart is stronger than all weapons in the world," Karagoz said, adding that Anadolu followed this resistance since day one, and conveyed the just struggle to the world through visual content and news in 13 languages.
"We are all aware of the truth. Mothers' hearts beat and live alongside their children," he said. "When mothers are separated from their children, time seems to stand still. Unfortunately, for Diyarbakir mothers, the time has stopped till they see their children again," and hence the name of this installation.
Karagoz said Anadolu journalists visited the mothers at their homes, listened to each of them for 20 days, and took each mother's photos in a composition defined by her unique tale.
Photography is the purest and most condensed manner of telling a tale, he said, adding: "This exhibition will later be displayed in other parts of Türkiye as well as in other cities across the world, including Paris, Sweden, Germany, New York, and at the UN, so that the entire world can witness this cruelty, drama, and injustice."
The protest
The sit-in protest against the PKK terror group in southeastern Türkiye began in September 2019 in Diyarbakir, when three mothers said their children had been forcibly recruited by PKK/YPG terrorists.
The demonstration outside the HDP – a party currently facing a closure case, and which the government accuses of having links to the terrorists – has been growing every day.
Demonstrations have also spread to other provinces, including Van, Mus, Sirnak, and Hakkari.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the terror group’s Syrian branch.
