Deputies to meet PKK members’ families

Parliament has taken a step forward in Turkey’s fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The Parliament’s Human Rights Commission will meet with the families of PKK members who were killed and look for the answers why their children initially joined the PKK.

The Human Rights Commission is starting a wide-ranging research of the 30-year-old fight against the PKK, daily Radikal has reported.

The number of all the people killed in the fight over 30 years, their occupation, age and other information will be collected in the research. Other than putting together the statistical information, the families of killed PKK members will be listened to for the first time by the government. The answer to the question “Why their son or daughter had joined PKK?” will be investigated.

“A person who lost his life could be a police officer, a soldier or even a terrorist. We would like to record detailed stories by meeting up with their families. We will bring the stories together in a report and then announce it to the whole world. Besides this, we would also like to attract attention to right-to-life violations,” said Commission Chairman Ayhan Sefer Üstün.

It is estimated that around 100 families from different backgrounds will be met by the parliamentarians for the research.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union.