A group of Turkish mothers known locally as the “Saturday Mothers”, whose children disappeared forcibly during the 1980s and 90s, succeeded in holding a public vigil without any police intervention last Saturday. This marks a watershed moment; the first such gathering to proceed unhindered since the police disbanded their demonstration back in 2018.
The “Saturday Mothers” have shown persistence and resilience, continuing their vigils for nearly three decades—over 1,000 weeks now. They aim to seek justice for their loved ones who were disappeared following arrests by security forces. However, up until this point, their attempts have largely been thwarted.
In 2018, the police forcibly dispersed one of the group’s vigils, and a pattern emerged, consistently obstructing further attempts at staging such demonstrations. The turning point came earlier this year Ankara’s Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the group, stating that their right to organize demonstrations had been violated.
On the resumption of their protests, the group commented “On #SaturdayMothers972Weeks, we made our statement and left our carnations in Galatasaray for the first time since the 700th week. We will not give up searching for Abdülkerim Yurtseven, Mikdat Özeken, Münür Sarıtaş and all our missing people and demanding that the perpetrators be tried and punished.”
The severity of the issue of enforced disappearances in Turkey has been highlighted in a 2022 report from the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The report states that since the military coup of 1980, at least 1,352 people have become victims of enforced disappearances. Surviving family members, alongside human rights defenders, continue their fight against such blatant impunity and tirelessly work towards revealing the truth.