Intimidating the local population for years and occasionally killing those opposing their presence, the PKK terrorist group found little resistance for decades in southeastern Türkiye where it drew in members. But a group of brave women changed this perception on Sept. 3, 2019. Today, the “Diyarbakır Mothers,” named after the southeastern province where they stage their protest, marks their five years of quiet but resilient civilian action against the terrorist group.
The mothers (who were later joined by fathers and siblings) launched their sit-in strike to demand the PKK return their children, including minors they abducted and tricked into joining. They chose the Diyarbakır offices of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) as the location of their protest as the party is accused of close links with the terrorist group. Indeed, most of their children were persuaded by HDP officials to join the PKK or were brainwashed in events organized by the political party. As prosecutors say in a trial seeking a ban on the HDP, the party acted as a recruitment office for the PKK. Though the PKK lost its clout thanks to a barrage of counterterrorism operations in recent years, the group still has members in mountainous territories in northern Iraq, neighboring Türkiye.
The “Children Watch,” as the media dubbed it, was unprecedented in Türkiye as well as the southeastern region, which the PKK used as a hideout, especially in the steep mountains of the region, and exploited the younger population for new recruits. Soon, the protest spread to other provinces in the region but the majority of protesters are concentrated in Diyarbakır, one of the largest provinces in the southeast. As their numbers grew, protesters set up a large tent at the protest site and occasionally argued with HDP staff, mocking them. One facet did not change though: Their determination as they tightly clutched old photos of their sons and daughters in their hands.
The number of families attending the protest reached 365 and their efforts have borne fruit since 2019. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced last month that some 45 members of the terrorist group whose families staged protests have turned themselves in since September 2019. Two more mothers were reunited with their children within two days of Yerlikaya’s remarks in mid-August. Most escape the PKK – which is known for executing deserters – in Iraq and surrender to Turkish security forces on Turkish-Iraqi borders. From there, they are transferred to the offices of security forces where they are questioned before they are reunited with their families.
The government is among the major supporters of the protesting parents and since 2019, government officials have regularly visited the sit-in strike. The opposition parties had little interest in the protest and when they tried to reach out to the Diyarbakır Mothers, they faced criticism from the protesters accusing them of aligning with the HDP, the very party they protested. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, head of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) who ran for president in the May elections, sought HDP's support in the race.
For the government, it is the best display of support for its counterterrorism efforts and a bloodless way to end terrorism. The government in the past tried a “democratic opening” that sought to undermine the PKK’s argument that the local Kurdish population was deprived of its rights and reversed the policies of the past governments, in favor of the local population. However, the terrorist group, feeling that this outreach would threaten its existence, stepped up attacks after a brief lull. In response, security forces, now armed with better defense technology, escalated their operations both in the region and abroad. Authorities say less than 200 PKK terrorists remain in Turkish territories, while others are confined to Iraq and Syria. The southeastern region of Türkiye, plagued with terrorism for decades, regained a sense of normalcy, which is evident in flourishing tourism and other activities in the mountains once used as hideouts by terrorists.
The protest spells trouble for the PKK, which claimed to fight for Kurdish self-rule in Türkiye. The terrorist group, for a long time, relied on the Kurdish population for recruits and tried to recruit at least one member from families, which are traditionally large. Thus, it sought to undermine unity against terrorism among the populace by pitting family members against each other. Although some families are unanimous in their anti-PKK stance, it was not rare for one family to have a member working as a "village guard" (an assisting force of armed civilian men helping army and law enforcement agencies) and another member recruited by the terrorist group. The families’ protests showed that they are more united than ever in denouncing the PKK and more resolute to take back their children from the group. Experts say that the protest also reversed the “radicalization” process the PKK used for young girls and boys to separate them from their families, and discouraged friends or relatives of sons and daughters of the Diyarbakır Mothers to join the group.
“We are fighting them not with guns but hearts,” Sariye Tokay, one of the Diyarbakır Mothers, said. Tokay is among the first women to join the sit-in strike in Diyarbakır for her son Mehmet. “I will be here for another five years or even 15 years unless my son returns,” she told Ihlas News Agency (IHA). “Mothers, fathers cry here but neither the PKK nor the HDP see it. But we will continue our protest. Eventually, we will have our children back,” she added.
Like Tokay, Necibe Çiftçi pleads for her son to return. “I fight here for him. Enough is enough. I want him to hear me out and return,” she said.
Speaking on behalf of the mothers, Ayşegül Biçer said they expected support from Türkiye as a whole, especially celebrities. “(Celebrities) raise their voice if a tree is cut down, but they have ignored our cries for the past five years,” she lamented.
“We will never give up. We will be here until we reunite with our children. I want to call all those boys and girls who joined (PKK). They cannot find peace in those mountains (where the PKK hides out). If they want to fight for a cause, this is not the way,” Ayten Elhaman, another protester, said.
