The protest of the “Diyarbakır Mothers,” a group appealing for the return of their children abducted by the PKK terrorist group, expanded on its 1,245th day on Sunday. Two families, whose children were brainwashed to join the terrorist group, entered the protest in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır.
The “Diyarbakır Mothers” group consists of families mainly of Kurdish background. They gained their nickname when a mother pioneered the sit-in in front of a branch of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Diyarbakır in 2019. Although fathers and other relatives of the children joined the group, it is primarily made up of women who clutch photos of their children in quiet protest. The HDP is viewed as the leading affiliate of the PKK, and it already faces closure in a lawsuit accusing it of serving as a “recruitment office” for the terrorist group.
Safiye Ilhan and Güler Laçin arrived from Istanbul to Diyarbakır to join the other mothers. Ilhan’s son Ahmet was 20 years old when he was brainwashed to join the PKK in 2018. Laçin’s only son, Ubeydullah Muhammet, was 17 years old when he left Istanbul 12 years ago to be taken to “the mountain.” The mountain is a colloquial expression used to describe people who voluntarily or forcibly joined the terrorist group, which uses mountains in southeastern Türkiye and northern Iraq as hideouts.
“I want him back from them. He is my only son. Muhammet, I beg you, please come back. I won’t leave here until you return. I will not leave my son to (the PKK),” Laçin told reporters.
Safiye Ilhan said her son worked in a coffeehouse before PKK members tricked him into joining them. “I came here to ask the HDP to return my son,” she said.
Also, on Sunday, Remzi Çayır, head of the National Path Party, paid a visit to the families and gave them flowers. Çayır said the protest was “meaningful and valuable” while families told him their stories and condemned the PKK and HDP.
