Another family joins anti-PKK protest in southeast Turkey

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

Another family has joined a sit-in protest in Turkey’s southeastern province of Diyarbakir in an attempt to reunite with their child abducted by the PKK terror group.

The protest began Sept. 3, 2019, with parents staging a sit-in outside the office of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) which they accuse of playing a role in their children's disappearance. The Turkish government accuses the HDP of having links to the PKK terror group.

Cemalettin Ongoren, whose son, Celal, was tricked into joining the terror group in 2013 while studying at a university, joined the protest.

He said PKK affiliates abducted Celal and he has not heard from him since.

The shaken father said he was looking forward to Celal’s graduation so that his son would have a better, prosperous life but the abduction destroyed those hopes.

In Turkey, offenders linked to terror groups are eligible for possible sentence reductions under a repentance law, if they surrender.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the US, and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women children and infants.

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas