By Mehmet Siddik Kaya
DIYARBAKIR, Türkiye (AA) - One more family joined the ongoing protest against the PKK terror group in Türkiye’s southeastern Diyarbakir province on Friday.
Since Sept. 3, 2019, families have been camping outside the offices of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), a party the Turkish government says has links to the PKK.
Demonstrations have also spread to other provinces, including Van, Mus, Sirnak, and Hakkari.
Idare Sonmez told reporters she joined the protest for her daughter, Hilal, who was abducted by the terror group seven years ago when she was just 20.
Urging her child to surrender to Turkish security forces, Sonmez said: “Do not be afraid, my daughter, come. Everyone is waiting for you.”
The protest has borne fruit as dozens of children abducted or forcibly recruited by the terror group fled the PKK and reunited with their families.
In Türkiye, offenders linked to terror groups who surrender are eligible for possible sentence reductions under a repentance law.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.
*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz