‘I can’t stand it anymore’: Mother cries for return of PKK-held son

For more than 700 days, a growing group of families whose children have been abducted or forcibly recruited by the PKK terror group has been protesting to reunite with their children in southeastern Turkey.

Hatice Ay is one of the mothers protesting for the return of her son, Muhammed Canbey, who was deceived and taken to the mountains by the PKK seven years ago.

Ay said that his son has thalassemia, a blood disorder caused by lack of protein, and he needs to get a blood transfusion every two months.

“I became a diabetic person and suffering from high blood pressure due to longing I am feeling for my son,” she said.

“I want my son from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). Who will take my son without the HDP? It took my son and gave him to the PKK,” she claimed.

The grieving mother vowed to continue protesting and search for her son until she dies, urging him to surrender to Turkish authorities.

“Enough is enough, I can’t stand it anymore,” Ay cried.

I definitely won’t leave here

The families have been protesting since Sept. 3, 2019, urging their children to give up their weapons and surrender to Turkish authorities.

Protests outside the office of the opposition HDP in the Diyarbakir province started with three mothers who said their children had been forcibly recruited by the terrorists. The Turkish government says the HDP has links to the PKK terror group, which is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the US, and the EU and has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants in its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey.

Sevket Bingol is a protesting father who vowed not to leave the sit-in site until he reunites with his son.

“HDP took the children of these families. What have you done to the Kurds other than persecuting and hurting them?” he asked.

“I won’t get up until my son returns. I definitely won’t leave here. The HDP should know this. I want my son back from them,” Bingol said.

In Turkey, offenders linked to terrorist groups are eligible for possible sentence reductions under a repentance law if they surrender.