DİYARBAKIR - The institutions of the state that banned demonstrations called by families who lost their children and keep the body of a dead mother on the streets for 7 days, have been supporting and steering the people protesting HDP. 

 

 

70 year old Hacire Akar, applied to the Diyarbakır Security Directorate on August 22, stating that her 21 year old son Mehmet Akar has been abducted and taken to the mountains. Ms Akar came to the HDP Dİyarbakır Provincial building from the police station, accusing the HDP of abducting her son and sending him to the Qandil mountains. She started a sit in protest in front of the HDP office. 

 

 

On August 23, Mehmet Akar who was the man allegedly abducted and taken to the mountains to join the PKK, called our agency stating that the allegations about him are false and that he ran away from home because his family was going to force him into a marriage he did not want. 

 

After Mehmet Akar testified to the Diyarbakır Provincial Security Directorate, his mother ended her sit in in front of the Diyarbakır HDP Building. 

 

After Akar, Fevziye Çetinkaya and her husband Şahap Çetinkaya who haven't heard from their son, and Remziye Akkoyun who claims her son has been abducted to send to the mountain to join PKK 4 years ago started a second sit-in in front of the HDP building. 3 more families whose son's were detained by HPG (People's Defence Units) in 2015 joined the sit-in protest. 

 

In the city where all demonstrations and activities are banned since July 24, 2015 with an order from the Governer's office, the fact that these families are allowed to do sit-in's in front of HDP building where even HDP people can not make a statement, attracted attention. 

 

It is the police who pick these families with up from their homes in police cars and bring them to the front of the HDP building, also providing them with food and looking after their catering needs.

 

 

The Saturday Mothers and families whose loved ones were abducted by JİTEM (Gendarmerie Intelligence and Anti-terror Unit)in the 1990s and haven’t been heard from again have been prevented from protesting by the police within the scope of the state of emergency for some time now. 

 

The Saturday Mothers and relatives of the disappeared who continued their activities after the abolition of the state of emergency on July 20, 2018 started to be banned from protesting by the prohibition decisions taken within the scope of the powers of “Super Governor" from September 2018. 

 

During these interventions the fact that Emine Ocak, mother of Hasan Ocak who was lost in custody at the age of 30 in 1995 in Galatasaray Square in August 2018 and other mothers being dragged on the ground shows clearly the response of the state towards the Kurdish mothers.

 

Another clue to the response of the state was to the mothers whose children were on hunger strike demanding the end of the continued isolation of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan. Those mothers were dragged through the streets, insulted by state officials and subjected to racist insults and violence. 

 

The approach of the state is very clear. The fact that the media of the government lead by Anadolu Agency have been camping in front of the HDP building to cover this story while they didn't report anything while mothers were being killed during the curfews, or when Taybet İnan was kept in the street for 7 days after her death, or while the Saturday Mother's were being beaten by the police attracts attention.