Another family joins sit-in against PKK in SE Turkey

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

Another family has joined Tuesday many others calling for the return of their children by staging a sit-in protest against the PKK terror group in southeastern Turkey.

The protest in Diyarbakir province outside the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) office -- which the government accuses of having links to the PKK -- began on Sept. 3, 2019, when three mothers said PKK terrorists had forcibly recruited their children. It has been growing for over 510 days.

Sevil Esendemir, a grieved mother from southeastern Gaziantep, joined the ongoing protest for her daughter who was kidnapped and taken to the mountains seven years ago when she was 20.

“Don’t be afraid, my child. Surrender to police officers, soldiers,” Esendemir said.

She added that her daughter Busra was deceived while she was studying at university and she could not hear from her since then.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people including women, children, and infants.

*Writing by Sena Guler