The Diyarbakır families continue their protest against the PKK in front of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) headquarters in southeastern Diyarbakır province during the holy month of Ramadan and as Türkiye enters a new period in its counterterrorism efforts against the terrorist organization.
It has been 2,008 days since the sit-in started in front of the HDP provincial party building, with mothers carrying the photos of their missing children.
One of them, Hatice Levent, repeated she would not leave without her daughter Fadime. “Dear daughter, if you hear me, surrender to security forces. I miss you. During these holy days, in this month of Ramadan, we await your return.”
Mother Necibe Çiftçi reiterated that 60 children have been reunited with their families while her wait continues.
Claiming to fight for Kurdish self-rule, the PKK lured many to its cause in the predominantly Kurdish southeast of Türkiye. For years, through intimidation, killings and bombings, it kept its grip on the Kurdish population. Then, in September 2019, something rarely seen in the region happened. A group of mothers who had not heard from their children for years started a protest outside the offices of the HDP, which is known for its ties to the terrorist group. They claimed that the party staff helped the PKK to draw recruits. Under the guise of participation in “festivals” and similar events organized by the HDP, Kurdish youth were brainwashed into joining the terrorist group.
The women’s simple protest in Diyarbakır soon grew into something more significant and eventually led to a lengthy sit-in strike. “Children watch,” as they dubbed it, drew some 375 families, while fathers also joined the sit-in strike. It also gave birth to similar protests in other eastern provinces and, in one case, in Germany, where a mother launched a solo sit-in against the PKK’s abduction of her daughter.
The solidarity of families has drawn nationwide praise and shed light on the dark side of the terrorist group seeking legitimacy through the HDP. In about five years, some 53 families reunited with their children. Some children, now in their 20s, fled the terrorist group when they became aware of the sit-in, while others were already planning to escape from the northern Iraqi hideouts of the group. Türkiye has remorse laws in place for surrendering terrorists. In some cases, they can walk free if they are not involved in lethal terrorist attacks.
But for the rest, waiting prevails amid occasional visits by families reunited with their sons and daughters that boost their morale.
