Parents part of the ongoing sit-in protest against the PKK terrorist group for kidnapping their children want to reunite with them on Mother's Day.
Since Sept. 3, 2019, the protesting families have been camping outside regional offices of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), a party the government says has links to the PKK.
The number of protesting families, all yearning to be reunited with their beloved children, currently stands at 358.
On the 1,348th day of the protest, a total of 40 families have so far reunited with their children who were kidnapped by the PKK.
Demonstrations have also spread to other provinces, including Van, Muş, Şırnak and Hakkari.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Aydan Arslan said her daughter Aysun was only 16 when she was abducted by the PKK.
"They even took 9-year-old children. We want our children from the HDP. They took our children away from us. Whenever I reunite with my child, that day is Mother's Day for me," Arslan said.
She said they will continue the sit-in with determination until their children return.
Another mother, Gevez Erdinç, who came from northern Van province to protest for her son Mikail, said her child was deceived and taken by the PKK eight years ago while he was a university student.
Protesting for her son Ramazan, Mevlüde Üçdağ said the day she reunites with her son will be her Mother's Day.
Sariye Tokay, who is waiting to be reunited with her son Mehmet, said that she has been longing to embrace her child for 12 years.
She said: "Whenever my son comes back, that's when I have Mother's Day."
In a separate development, a premiere of the documentary titled "The Cries of Diyarbakır Mothers," produced by the Presidency's Directorate of Communications in collaboration with Turkish public broadcaster TRT, was held on Thursday in the capital Ankara.
The documentary "filmed in the mountains surrounding the terror-free Fis Plain, in the countryside of Lice and the city of Diyarbakır features the terrorist organization PKK and its cooperation with its political supporters, along with the experiences of the mothers waiting to reunite with their children who were deceived and abducted by the PKK," the communications directorate said in a statement.
Hosting an exhibition of AA, the Moment Time Stopped, the premiere was attended by AA Deputy Director-General Oğuz Enis Peru, Deputy Director of Communications Evren Başar and the Diyarbakır Mothers.
