Days ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, families of youths abducted by PKK terrorists have repeated calls for them to return home as they continue weekly protests in Türkiye’s eastern province of Muş.
The parents, who meet every Wednesday in front of the outside the local offices of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), say they are trying to make their voices heard by their children, many of whom they have not seen or heard from in years.
Holding banners reading “Mothers are resisting,” “We are on a vigil for our children,” and “Enough is enough, leave us alone,” the families call on their children to surrender and return home. Many carry photographs of their sons and daughters as they speak to passersby and members of the press.
Claiming to fight for Kurdish self-rule, the PKK lured many into 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 Peoples’ Democratic Party (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, the Kurdish youth was brainwashed into joining the terrorist group.
The women’s simple protest in Diyarbakır soon grew into something larger and eventually led to a lengthy sit-in strike. “Children watch” as they themselves dubbed, drew some 384 families while fathers joined the sit-in strike. The protests have so far reunited some 62 families with their children.
The HDP later dissolved and evolved into the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), now part of the terror-free Türkiye initiative, which aims to support the PKK’s disarmament.
The protest is part of an ongoing effort by families across Türkiye whose children were recruited or abducted by the PKK, blacklisted as a terrorist group by Türkiye, the U.S. and the EU, and responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people in its four-decade campaign.
Among those taking part is Alaattin Koçhan, who said he has not received any news from his son for 12 years. Standing with his son’s photograph, he appealed directly for him to come back.
“I haven’t heard from my son for years,” Koçhan told reporters. “My son, what are you waiting for? Come out and come home. With so much conflict around us, what are you waiting for?”
He said holidays have become especially difficult for the family in his absence.
“Our holidays feel like days of mourning,” he said. “Wherever you are, come out and come back. We are waiting for you.”
Another father, Halit Altun, said the pain of separation has lasted for years and continues to weigh heavily on families like his.
“We have been longing for our children for years,” Altun said, noting that the upcoming Ramadan holiday is a painful reminder of their absence.
“We don’t know how holidays pass for us anymore,” he said. “We are thinking only of our children. We want them back. In these blessed days, we are only after our children. We want nothing else.”
