As we all know, there has been a campaign conducted by the PKK terrorist organization in southeast Anatolia for about 40 years. Indeed, the PKK’s ideology and goals vanished long ago, as in the other global examples of such terrorist organizations. Its existence continues through its exertion of violence targeting society. It sometimes pits the state and society against each other, its violence increases from time to time, and it maintains its influence through its political party in Parliament.

Another reason for the PKK's survival is that, rather than being a national organization or an organization fighting only within Türkiye, after the Syrian war, it has taken on a new formation with the support of Iran, the United States and the Syrian regime in the region formed by Kurdish citizens in Syria. Hence, the PKK, which has almost no activity in Türkiye, is now trying to maintain its presence in Syria. On the other hand, while thousands of young people joined the terrorist organization who voluntarily went up to the mountains 10-20 years ago, the PKK has not been able to gain supporters naturally in recent years. There are neither young people who want to go up the mountains nor people who want to work with them any longer.

Not much gap between the east and west of Türkiye

Of course, 20 years of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) governments have had a share in the elimination of the PKK. Primarily, the completion of the regional infrastructure and construction of all essential state investments played a significant role. The investments of the AK Party governments left almost no difference between İzmir and Diyarbakır, from the health and education to the state functioning systems. Diyarbakır, Urfa, Şırnak and Mardin do not differ from the cities in the west of Türkiye. The gap that existed 20-30 years ago is no longer there. Moreover, Diyarbakir, for example, is a more planned and developed city than Istanbul and Ankara when one considers its history, acquis, qualified building stock and urban planning.

Terror versus mothers

On the other hand, the protests of the Diyarbakir families have entered their fourth year. The protest started when a mother from Diyarbakır, Hacire Akar, shouted in front of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) headquarters in Diyarbakır: "You are taking our children to the mountains as a target. My child was small and did not want to go to the mountain. You took him to the mountain by force." Her son Mehmet soon returned home. Akar inspired other families. Later, mothers who heard Akar’s call and wanted to save their children from the terrorist organization started to gather one after another in front of the HDP headquarters in Diyarbakır.

Today, the number of families waiting in front of the HDP's Diyarbakır building has reached 400. This civil action against terrorism was successful, and mothers started to save their children from terrorism. These protests and actions of the families yielded results, and about 37 children returned and reunited with their mothers. We believe this is a unique success story in which a civil movement started by mothers was successful against a terrorist organization, whereas, in all other practices in the world, it is the state fighting against terrorism with its hard power. The Diyarbakır mothers are trying to save their children who were kidnapped from their parents and taken to the mountains as young as 13, 14 or 15 years old.

Child abuse by terrorists

In this article, I want to shed some light on the issue of children forced into war by several terrorist organizations around the world while evaluating the situation of the Diyarbakir mothers chasing their children with civil courage. Many terrorist organizations around the world abduct children from their families through drugs and smuggling and make them a part of terrorism. 

The Diyarbakir mothers use the following expression for the lords of terror: "While their own children study at colleges in Ankara, Istanbul, or at fancy schools and universities all around the world, they take our children to the mountains, who are not yet as tall as a Kalashnikov gun. They take them from our hands and homes and drag them to death." The scream of the Diyarbakır mothers, in a way, not only aims to protect their children and bring them back home but also sheds light on the issue of child victims of terrorism around the world. This successful civil action by the Diyarbakır mothers is an encouraging step, a hope and a model for all such mothers.

If the terrorist organization had not lost its ideology and goals, it would not have forcibly kidnapped children today to recruit staff. Now the PKK is not only a terrorist organization but also a child and youth smuggling organization that forcibly takes children from their families.

Democracy and freedom test of the Turkish left

The Turkish left, which protests minor things like the cancellation of loud concerts in the name of democracy and freedom, remains silent and insensitive to such child abuse by the terrorist organization and the screams of the Diyarbakir mothers. The Turkish left has also lost its ideology and goals, similar to the PKK's break with its ideological context. The Turkish left seems to only be focused on following the globalists' agenda.