By Huseyin Yahya Sekerci and Haydar Toprakci
ERZURUM, Turkey
A female PKK terrorist who surrendered to Turkish security forces spoke about the links between the PKK and the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).
The woman identified as told Anadolu Agency she joined the terrorist organization through HDP.
She joined at the age of 15 for two years and B.E said she surrendered to security forces after experiencing the dark sides of the PKK.
B.E. said she contacted HDP to join the terrorist organization and the political party asked her to leave her phone number to contact her.
“Later they [HDP] called me and brought me to the mountains,” she said.
She said there were many visits to PKK leaders by members of the HDP, including deputies and the co-leaders of the party. “There were also those who joined the organization [PKK] from the HDP,” she said.
Turkey's government accuses the HDP of having links to the PKK terror group. Several HDP lawmakers have been accused of attending the funerals of PKK terrorists.
In November 2016, then-HDP co-leader Selahattin Demirtas, along with 12 of his party lawmakers, were arrested pending trial for terrorism-related offenses after their parliamentary immunity was lifted in May 2016.
Living conditions under PKK
There were many difficulties on the mountain, said B.E. who faced problems including finding housing, food heating.
B.E. witnessed how people joined the PKK to escape pressure from homes and to escape marriage.
Calling on people to stay away from the terrorist organization, B.E. described the PKK as a “swamp” she described as impossible to escape once in.
“The organization is really a swamp, you can't get out once you are in. The promises it gives are great, but the things it does are awful,” she said.
“organization does nothing but bring death to the people. It supposedly protects women, but the women who flee their homes and from marriages do not live there and die within two days -- what the organization does is to kill in two minutes,” she added.
“I regret the first day that I joined the organization” she added.
PKK’s unequal hierarchies
B.E said the high-ranking PKK terrorists live more comfortable, stating that they wear the best quality shoes and coats and eat better food.
“Those who are newly recruited are living like under slavery,” she added, stating that there is a constant pressure coming from the higher positioned members.
Stating that she witnessed many executions by the PKK, B.E. said she witnessed three to four people who were executed because they were fleeing or trying to do it.
She said the bodies of these executed members were thrown in a corner without being buried.
Stating that she also faced abuses such as beating, B.E. said the PKK uses violence and isolation, which was the reason for her to flee.
B.E also said the PKK is spreading lies and threatens members by saying things like “if you escape, security forces will throw you out of a helicopter; soldiers will torture you; we will reach your family and harm them” which prevents members from fleeing.
“I saw those arrested and executed. They throw the arrested ones into a site and left them hungry and thirsty. When you see these people, you get afraid of getting caught while running away because you can't escape,” she added.
Stating the terrorist organization did not allow a 13-year-old child member to visit home, B.E. said this is only one of the PKK’s brutal rules.
Foreigners met PKK leaders
The female terrorist also said PKK leaders had contact with foreigners.
“There were people coming from Germany, from abroad. Those inside the organization tried to show themselves nice in front of these foreigners,” she said.
B.E. said foreigners would ask her about her age and criticized the organization for letting a 15-year-old join the PKK.
Stating security forces treated her good after she surrendered, B.E. said she did not encounter any bad approach.
Speaking about the support of the Turkish security forces she received, B.E. “they are doing their best to save those on the mountain”.
In order to protect their children from the terrorist organization, B.E. called on families to provide education for them and to prevent marriage at a young age.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women and children.
