Sit-in protesters in SE Turkey urge their children to surrender

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

Parents of those forcibly abducted by the PKK terror group on Monday continued to hold a sit-in protest in Turkey's southeastern Diyarbakir province, hoping to reunite with their children and embrace them once again.

The families have been protesting for 707 days since Sept. 3, 2019, encouraging their children to give up their weapons and surrender to authorities.

Protests outside the office of the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in Diyarbakir started with three mothers who said their children were forcibly recruited by the terrorists. The families accuse the HDP of playing a role in their children's disappearance.

Mevlude Ucdag, one of the protesters, said she will not leave the scene without getting her son back.

“That is a great pain. May God not test anybody with their children,” she said. “The HDP tricked my child, handed him over to the PKK.”

“My son, surrender to our security forces. I am looking forward to having you back,” she said, adding that she had been protesting for the past two years.

Omer Tokay, a protesting father, said he was longing for his child and called him to lay down his weapons and surrender to Turkey's security units.

Offenders in Turkey linked to terrorist groups who surrender are eligible for possible sentence reductions under a repentance law.

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

* Writing by Ali Murat Alhas in Ankara.