Families who gather every Wednesday in front of the DEM Party Provincial Presidency building continued their protests this week. Holding banners with slogans such as “We are on duty for our children”, “The party that deceives the people”, “Mothers are resisting”, and “Enough is enough, let go of us”, parents called for their children, whose photos they carried, to come back to them.
One mother, Ayten Koçhan, told reporters that she has been waiting for news of her son for 8 years. Koçhan expressed that she cannot bear the longing for her son, saying, “We just want to be reunited with our children. Give us our children. This is not a Kurdish-Turkish issue. I will continue the protest until there is no one left in the mountains. I appeal to all children, come and surrender. Parents cannot bear your absence. If they had children, would they endure this much? May Allah make them feel the pain in our hearts. They are deceiving the children of the nation and taking them to the mountains.”
Gülbahar Teker, who has been protesting in Diyarbakır and Muş for years, stated, “We want our children back. We cry every day during the holidays. We will continue our protest until there is no one left in the mountains. We are not afraid of them, we will protest everywhere.”
The families have been gathering in front of the party building for weeks, demanding the return of their missing children. They appeal to the children who have joined the PKK terrorist organization to surrender and return home to their families. The parents express their deep longing and pain caused by the absence of their children, emphasizing that this is not an issue of ethnic conflict but a plea for the safe return of their loved ones.
Despite facing challenges and uncertainties, the families remain determined to continue their protest until their children come back home. They highlight the emotional toll of the separation and urge the government to take action in facilitating the return of the missing individuals. Through their ongoing protest, these families seek to raise awareness and appeal to the conscience of society in the hope of achieving a resolution to this heartbreaking situation.
