page_title: Mothers of Diyarbakır
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Mothers of Diyarbakır / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Sit-in of mothers from Diyarbakir against PKK, in front of HDP building
context_page_description: The Mothers of Diyarbakır is a group who gathers daily for a sit-in protest against the Peoples' Democratic Party, demanding the return of their children who allegedly were deceived or kidnapped by the Kurdistan Workers' Party. The sit-in takes places outside the Diyarbakır headquarters of the HDP. In contrast to the Saturday Mothers in Istanbul, who also ask for the whereabouts of their relatives and whose protests face oppression from the police, the Mothers of Diyarbakır group are supported by the Turkish police who escort them home in the evenings, and are protected by the local state prosecutor, The pro-government media also support the group.
context_section_description: Before the action in Diyarbakır, similar complaints arose from time to time from mothers urging their sons to surrender to the security authorities. Aytekin Yılmaz, a former PKK member who wrote books about the organization, said that some young Kurds voluntarily joined the PKK, while others under duress.
  The protests began in August when Kurdish mother Hacire Akar accused the PKK of kidnapping her son. Soon after, a news agency close to Kurdish nationalists interviewed the 21-year-old boy, who claimed that he had not joined the PKK but had run away from home because of a family matter. He returned home. The result encouraged other mothers. Since 3 September 2019, 34 families have joined the protest outside the Diyarbakır headquarters of the HDP, a political party accused by several parties and the Turkish Government of having links to the PKK.
  Due to the sit-in, Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation against HDP Diyarbakır Provincial and District executives after media reports about threats towards the protestors by alleged PKK supporters emerged.
  The HDP denies the allegations and says the protests are orchestrated by the government to demonize the party. Zeyyat Ceylan, HDP's Diyarbakir co-chair, claimed the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was trying to avenge its June 2019 Istanbul mayoral election defeat by using the families. Metin Gurcan, a columnist for Al-Monitor, commented upon the protests as pushing HDP to "distance itself from the PKK and transform".
  Attributed to the winter circumstances, the grouped stopped sitting on the stairs in front of the party building and moved to a tent to shelter from the cold weather. The police accommodated the group with food and water.
  In March 2020, the number of protesting families increased to 134.  There are also relatives from outside the Diyarbakır Province. The protests continued during the outbreak of the coronavirus, albeit in line with the measures taken to fight against the pandemic. The elderly went home, while the others sat together with a distance between them, while wearing gloves and masks. A PKK member who claims his family is part of the protests, calls his family to "stop immediately" as he claims not to have been manipulated. Murat Karayılan, a PKK commander dismissed any accusations made against the HDP or the PKK.
caption: The sit-in of the mothers in 2020
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