One more family is preparing to reunite with a child as many more continue their sit-in against the PKK terrorist group that has forcibly abducted their sons and daughters, including minors.
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Sunday a 24th family is going to once again embrace their child and that the PKK would be eradicated as more members surrender to security forces through persuasion.
The ministry announced that two PKK affiliates fled the terrorist group and surrendered to Turkish authorities.
In Turkey, offenders linked to terrorist groups who surrender are eligible for possible sentence reductions under a repentance law.
The sit-in protest began on Sept. 3, 2019, in Diyarbakır province outside the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) office, which the government accuses of having links to the PKK, when three mothers claimed PKK terrorists forcibly recruited their children. It has been growing for more than 529 days.
The HDP, long facing public scrutiny and judicial probes over its ties to the PKK, is under pressure from the growing civilian movement. Various groups from around Turkey have supported the Kurdish mothers in their cause, with many paying visits to show their solidarity.
The protest started when Hacire Akar turned up at the doorstep of the HDP’s Diyarbakır office one night after her son was abducted by the PKK. Akar’s son Mehmet returned home on Aug. 24, 2019, giving hope to other families. On Sept. 3, 2019, other parents inspired by Akar transformed her solo stance into a collective sit-in protest.
Since then, 23 families have been reunited with their children thanks to the protest’s success.
A book regarding the families' efforts to reunite with their children was also recently published. In the text, one of the parents participating in the sit-in protest explains the stories and experiences of families who have been protesting for over a year.
Şevket Altıntaş joined the sit-it with hopes of bringing his abducted child back and said the participating families have been determined to continue protesting until their beloved children are home safe again.
In his book "From Diyarbakır Mothers to the World," Altıntaş recounts the experiences of protesting families. He said he wrote the book in an effort to offer tangible evidence about how children are kidnapped and shed light on the methods used by terrorist affiliates to trick the youths. The defiant father went on to say that the terrorist group stops children from fleeing by threatening to kill their families.
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.