More families join sit-in protest in front of HDP headquarters

by Daily Sabah with Agencies

ANKARA Feb 02, 2020 - 10:34 pm GMT+3

The number of families who have been staging a sit-in protest for 153 days in a row in front of pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) headquarters in southeastern Diyarbakır province with the aim of saving their abducted children, has reached 79 with the arrival of the Ayhan family, who joined the protest Sunday, to protet for the return of their son Sabri who was abducted five years ago at the age of 21.

Stressing that his son was abducted in 2015 in southeastern Siirt province as a high school student, Hasan Ayhan said he believes that Sabri was deceived by the HDP to join PKK: "I went to HDP headquarters. They told me 'All the best for your son.' I want my son back. He wanted to be a teacher," Ayhan said.

The mother of another abducted child, Aysel Erol, of Siirt province, told Anadolu Agency that she was waiting in front of the HDP headquarters to see her son Caner again.

"We will resist for our children. We raised them with difficulties to see them have a [good] life, not for [the HDP] to take," she said. "They were deceived," Erol added.

The protest started one night when Hacire Akar turned up at the doorstep of the HDP's Diyarbakır office. A week later, on Sept. 3, 2019, families inspired by Akar transformed her solo stance into a collective sit-in protest. Akar's son Mehmet returned home on Aug. 24, giving hope to other families. So far, four families have been reunited with their children.

Since the beginning of their protest, the mothers have received support from across the country with almost all segments of society expressing solidarity with their cause.

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