Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç visited a group known as "Diyarbakır Mothers" as they continued their sit-in strike against the PKK terrorist group in the southeastern Türkiye on Friday. Tunç, accompanied by his wife and a high-ranking official, gave flowers to the group comprised mostly of women whose sons or daughters were kidnapped by the PKK.
As Tunç visited them, the "Diyarbakır Mothers" marked the 1,481st day of their protest outside the local office of the Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP), a political party affiliated with the terrorist group. Protesters accuse the HDP of facilitating the PKK's recruitment of their children, including teenagers and minors brainwashed to join the group. The families recounted how their children disappeared one day and how they discovered they had been tricked into joining the terrorist group. Tunç gave flowers to the protesters and reiterated the government's support for the act. He also extended greetings of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to the protesters.
Speaking to reporters after his visit, Tunç said the mothers issued the world a message for their fight for human rights and against terrorism and praised their sacrifice and bravery. "We appreciate what they are doing. This brave stand of the mothers boosted morale in this region in the fight against terrorism. Some 366 families joined this protest, and 46 families have reunited with their children since this protest began. We hope all others will be reunited with their sons and daughters soon, and we will have a peaceful future free of terrorism," he said.
Diyarbakır, which has a predominantly Kurdish population, has seen violent attacks by the terrorist group in the past. The PKK also sought to exploit Kurdish youth to join their so-called cause for a self-styled autonomous Kurdish region.
