Activists across 61 European cities rallied on the 1000th week of protests by Turkey’s Saturday Mothers, who are seeking justice for relatives disappeared in custody. The pan-European support highlighted ongoing demands for accountability for those missing in suspicious circumstances in the country, and particularly in its Kurdish regions.
Activists gathered in London’s Trafalgar Square under the banners of groups in exile, holding signs reading, “Don’t forget the disappeared” and “Find the missing, prosecute the perpetrators”. Prominent participants included the writer Aydın Çubukçu and representatives from the Kurdish People’s Assembly and the Alevi Federation of Britain. “We must amplify their calls for justice,” stated Çubukçu, as participants laid carnations on photographs of the disappeared.
The echoes of solidarity were felt in Amsterdam where Saturday Mothers’ representative Şehriban Tepeli shared harrowing tales of loss and the Turkish state’s role in the disappearances. Meanwhile, in Berlin’s Celalettin Kesim Park, Kurdish and Turkish communities demanded the missing be found and the culprits brought to justice. Baki Selçuk of the International Committee Against Disappearances drew attention to the persistence of the Saturday Mothers, who have gathered in Istanbul’s Galatasaray Square every week for nearly two decades.
Further south, in Bern, Switzerland, demonstrators pointed to the resounding silence from the Turkish state regarding the fate of the disappeared. Tuncay Yılmaz, representative of MEBYA-DER, a support group for families of the disappeared in the region, noted also the state’s efforts to suppress their voices, saying, “Our families are still asking, ‘Where are our children?'”
The protests also spanned cities like Zurich and Basel, and the message was clear: the fight for justice for the disappeared remains strong, and the international community stands in solidarity with the Saturday Mothers, ensuring their loved ones are not forgotten.
