Families’ anti-PKK terrorism protest tears down wall of fear: Turkish president

ANKARA

A protest by Turkish families against the terrorist PKK "tears down the wall of fear" and exposes the terror group’s "treacherous face," Turkey's president said on Friday.

Speaking at the Justice and Development (AK) Party's extended consultation council meeting in the southeastern Diyarbakir province, Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised the local families who have been protesting the PKK since September 2019, encouraging their children lured or deceived into PKK service to give up their weapons and surrender to Turkish authorities.

"Diyarbakir mothers, with the flag they raised, both tore down the walls of fear and exposed the treacherous face of the separatist group and its political extensions," said the Turkish president.

Erdogan went on to say that they continue to work day and night for the country's security, giving no quarter or opportunity to the terrorist PKK.

As long as they do not praise terrorism and violence, there is room in the AK Party for all kinds of ideas, all kinds of thoughts, and anyone who prioritizes the nation and country, he added.

Erdogan visits mother's sit-in protests in Diyarbakir

President Erdogan paid a visit to the protesting families, who accuse the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) of being an accomplice to their children's abduction or deception to join the PKK.

The protests outside the office of the HDP started in September 2019 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, and prosecutors have filed suit with the nation's highest court to shut the party down.

Speaking to the mothers, Erdogan voiced support for their cause and said both the Interior Ministry and other authorities will continue to work on reuniting the families.

"As you know, nearly 25 children have been reunited with their parents. And we want the others to be reunited with their parents as well," he said.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.