A female terrorist, who was reunited with her family after surrendering as a result of persuasion efforts of Turkish police, called on the terrorist group's members to surrender.
Y.T., who was taken to the camps of the group in northern Iraq by the PKK in 2014 from the Şemdinli district of southeastern Türkiye's Hakkari province, was persuaded to surrender with the support of her family with efforts of the Iğdır Provincial Police Department.
Taken from Iraq and brought to Türkiye, she met with her family waiting for her in Iğdır. Y.T. detailed the process of how she joined the group, what she went through in PKK camps, the pressures she faced, the fear and panic in the group.
Stating that she was deceived at a young age to join the group, Y.T. said, "I joined the group from Şemdinli. They transferred me to the Iraqi region, I stayed there and trained for six months. The inhumane approaches there (in the camps) are enough to make people regret their decisions." Y.T. added that there are many terrorists in the camps who want to be reunited with their families.
Calling those in the group to surrender, Y.T. continued as follows, "Like me, there are many people who want to return, but are afraid, uneasy and scared of the group. One of them was my friend, she died with the fear of being unable to return. They even decide whether you are allowed to fulfill your essential needs. There are things they impose. There is a prison sentence, there is something they call 'isolation' where no one communicates with you in any way for a long time. There are many people who have a tendency to run away, but there are many who cannot do it because they fear that the terrorist organization will do something."
She stated how "mistreatment by security forces in Türkiye" was told to them within the group, and after she surrendered, she saw that this was not the case and was warmly welcomed by police.
"I have never seen an approach from the police as described in the PKK camps, I can say this of my own free will. I was extremely satisfied with the approaches. They certainly did not approach me like a prisoner, but rather treated me as a guest. My process of surrender went smoothly."
Addressing those still in the PKK terrorist group, Y.T. said: "My advice to them is to surrender at the right time and opportunity, because I ran away when I got my chance. This is the only way to make up for the wrong they have done to themselves, their families and their state. It would be the greatest favor they could do for themselves."
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
