A group of demonstrators known as the “Diyarbakır Mothers” marked another Mother’s Day on Sunday without a reunion with their children who were brainwashed to join the terrorist group PKK years ago.

The “mothers,” who were later joined by male members of families, started a sit-in protest in 2019 outside the building of a party with links to the PKK, in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır. Since then, the number of families joining the protest reached 385. They claim the party, the now-defunct Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), had tricked their sons and daughters, mostly teenagers, into joining the terrorist group.

The protest was unprecedented, especially in Diyarbakır, a province with a predominantly Kurdish population. The PKK claims to fight for Kurdish rights and, for decades, has exploited the disillusioned Kurdish youth to join them. The Diyarbakır Mothers’ act was the first instance of defiance against the PKK in the wider region where the local population is intimidated by the terrorist group. Over time, it paid off, with 77 families reuniting with their children who surrendered to Turkish authorities, mostly on Türkiye’s border with northern Iraq, where the PKK has hideouts. Surrendered members of the PKK are often handed out lenient sentences, including house arrests, if they invoke a law for collaborators and if they are not involved in acts of terrorism.

Mevlüde Üçdağ still awaits good news from her son Ramazan. Ramazan was brainwashed to join the group when he was 17. Üçdağ sought to reunite with him for years, even traveling to Iraq once, but could not find her son. Pro-PKK websites reported in 2018 that Üçdağ was killed, but the mother was determined to get him back, dead or alive. Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) on Sunday, Üçdağ said she missed him very much. “It would mean the world to me if he were here with me now. Mother’s Day is just an ordinary day for me without him,” she said.

Ayten Elhaman, who joined the mothers to reunite with her son Bayram, said they never lost their determination and always had hopes for the return of their children. “The terror-free Türkiye process is a new hope for us. We wake up with new hopes every morning. Seventy-seven children returned to their families, and Allah willing, we will have ours back too,” she said, adding that reuniting with her son would be “the greatest gift for Mother’s Day.”

Sariye Tokay said she has been holding the sit-in protest in the hope of reuniting with her son Mehmet, adding that they have continued their struggle for their children regardless of summer or winter, illness or pandemics.

Stating that they will not give up their struggle until they are reunited with their children, Tokay said they are marking yet another Mother’s Day with sorrow. “My son used to celebrate both my Mother’s Day and his grandmother’s every year, but unfortunately, we have been apart for 15 years. We don’t have a ‘Mother’s Day.’ Our only wish is for all mothers to be reunited with their children.”

Fatma Laçin, who seeks to reunite with her son Muhammed, said her only child was taken away from her. Emphasizing that she is fighting to reunite with her son, Laçin said, “I hope no mother has to cry anymore.”

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Academics and intellectuals from across the world gathered in Istanbul on Monday to examine how colonial legacies continue to shape global knowledge production, with speakers at the World Decolonization Forum urging universities, societies and cultural institutions to break away from Eurocentric frameworks.

The session, titled “The Problem of Knowledge Production: Decolonized Methodologies,” was held at the Atatürk Cultural Center as part of the World Decolonization Forum, which focused on the roots of global crises and the lasting impact of colonialism.

Speakers included decolonial theory scholar Walter Mignolo, Salman Sayyid from the University of Leeds, Syed Farid Alatas and U.S. political scientist and author Anne Norton.

Norton argued that colonialism remains embedded in modern global structures, saying today’s world continues to operate within systems built by colonial powers.

“Colonialism has not ended,” she said, adding that the colonization of the mind has become deeply normalized in everyday life.

She also pointed to the role of corporate power and universities, particularly in the United States, in sustaining these systems.

Sayyid emphasized that many universities around the world remain modeled on Western frameworks, not only rhetorically but institutionally.

He said decolonizing universities would transform knowledge production from a profit-oriented enterprise into a public good.

“A university should not merely become a diploma factory,” he said, stressing that cultural, social and academic decolonization must progress together.

Alatas described the decolonization of knowledge as fundamentally tied to critical thinking, arguing that Europe continues to maintain cultural, political and intellectual dominance through what he called modern forms of neocolonialism.

“Eurocentric knowledge functions to sustain neocolonial structures,” he said.

Mignolo explored the connection between modernity and colonialism, arguing that liberation and decolonization are understood differently across regions and societies.

He cautioned against conflating decolonization with “de-Westernization,” saying the latter is often driven by state-led geopolitical or economic projects, such as those associated with China, Russia or BRICS countries.

According to Mignolo, decolonization goes beyond state policy and instead involves a broader process of intellectual independence shaped through education, knowledge production and social consciousness.

While classical colonial administrations have largely disappeared, he said, coloniality continues through military power, financial systems, dollar dominance and global media networks.

He added that decolonization should not be viewed as opposition to the West, but rather as an effort by societies to reclaim intellectual and cultural autonomy.

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The Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul said Sunday that renovation work on the Halki seminary will be completed in September, but noted that the Greek Orthodox school still does not have an operating license.

Located on Heybeliada, one of the Princes’ Islands near Istanbul, the seminary opened in the mid-19th century and was the main theological school for the Eastern Orthodox Church until it was closed under Turkish law in 1971.

“We are also optimistic regarding the reopening of the Holy Theological School of Halki,” the 86-year-old patriarch Bartholomew I told donors in Athens last Thursday.

“In the coming months, the extensive renovation works on the school’s building complex will be completed, and, God willing, we shall celebrate its inauguration this coming September,” he said.

Although his remarks were widely interpreted to mean the seminary would reopen, Nikos Papachristou, a spokesman for the Istanbul-based patriarchate, told AFP there were no plans to reopen the seminary, only to inaugurate the newly renovated building.

“What he said in Athens is that we are expecting that the renovation will be finished by September, so at the end of September, he will be able to inaugurate the renovated building,” he explained.

“He is always expressing the wish that it would be a nice coincidence if, when he inaugurates the renovated building, the licence for reopening the school will come,” he added.

Blocked for years, Bartholomew I raised the matter with U.S. President Donald Trump during his visit to the White House last September. Trump pledged to help, raising hopes that the deadlock could be broken and the hilltop seminary reopened. Established in 1844, it has turned out scores of Orthodox leaders, including Bartholomew I.

Momentum in reopening grew after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also discussed the issue with Trump at the White House last September.

Erdoğan said Türkiye would “do our part” regarding its reopening. He had previously linked the move to reciprocal measures from Greece to improve the rights of Turks and Muslims there.

Since coming to power in 2002, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) governments have enacted reforms to improve the rights of religious groups, including opening places of worship and returning some property that was confiscated by the state in the past decades.

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International scholars and experts scrutinized the impact of colonization and decolonization efforts as the World Decolonization Forum opened in Istanbul Monday.

The forum, organized by Institute Social, continued with a session entitled “Why Are Institutions Aligning Around Decolonization?” after a keynote speech by Dr. Esra Albayrak, chair of the NÛN Foundation for Education and Culture and a member of the forum’s scientific committee.

Participants discussed how to break free from Western-centric concepts of knowledge, the role of universities and other institutions in knowledge as part of the decolonization process.

Professor Mürteza Bedir, from the Centre for Islamic Studies (ISAM), told the session that the Encyclopedia of Islam published by Türkiye’s Presidency of Religious Affairs was a reflection of a “more local viewpoint to knowledge generated on Islam.”

Professor Naci Inci, the rector of Boğaziçi University, said discussing decolonization was not merely confronting the past but also rethinking the university of the future.

Institute Social’s Dr. Ipek Coşkun Armağan told the session that they needed to focus on decolonizing the concepts and this should be the first stage of decolonization.

“The case of Palestine moves decolonization debates beyond a historical matter, calling for a rethinking of pressing global issues such as sovereignty, self-determination, displacement, and structural violence.” Mireille Fanon Mendes-France, chairperson of the Frantz Fanon Foundation, told a session entitled The Reason for Unreason.

“The concept of decolonization is gaining ground; yet the real question is whether we can genuinely transform the intellectual frameworks through which we make sense of the world,” said Salman Sayyid, a professor of Decolonial Thought and Rhetoric at the University of Leeds.

“A decolonized university is one that can view knowledge production as a public value, and that can open space for different intellectual traditions, disciplines and epistemologies. Such a transformation can only be conceived alongside a broader process of decolonization in culture and society,” he added.

“Colonialism hasn’t disappeared. It has transformed its instruments of control, spreading into cultural, intellectual, military and political domains. We live in a world that colonialism built, a world where many of us, both in the Global South and the Global North, are left out. And the starting point is simple: questioning the ideas and assumptions we’ve been taught to take for granted,” Syed Farid Alatas, Professor of Sociology & Anthropology at the National University of Singapore, told the plenary session entitled The Problem of Knowledge Production: Decolonizing Methodologies.

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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday stressed that all citizens must be equal before the law and said the state’s role is to serve the people, not stand above them.

Speaking at a ceremony in Ankara marking the 158th anniversary of the Council of State and Administrative Justice Day, Erdoğan noted the rule of law should protect all citizens equally.

“In its modern sense, the rule of law is like the sun at noon, shining equally on everyone,” Erdoğan stressed. “Public administration cannot look down on citizens. An administrator is not the master of the citizen, but their servant.”

He noted that Türkiye had ended privileges and discrimination, adding that “there is no fear for anyone under the rule of law.”

He described the judiciary as one of the three main pillars of the state, adding that administrative justice serves as a secure channel for citizens seeking their rights against public actions.

“The Council of State is the final stop on this path,” he said.

Erdoğan also renewed his call for a new constitution, saying a “new, inclusive, libertarian and civilian constitution” would offer an opportunity to strengthen Türkiye’s democracy.

“We will continue to increase our efforts for a fairer judicial system,” Erdoğan emphasized.

The president said all citizens have a responsibility to protect Türkiye’s interests, future and peace.

“If Türkiye is to develop, grow and rise above the level of contemporary civilizations, this can only be achieved through a collective struggle,” said Erdoğan.

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Türkiye’s military power and achievements in peacekeeping missions stand out in the world. U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said that they were eager not only to maintain but also to increase Türkiye’s participation in peacekeeping missions.

Lacroix, who visited Türkiye as part of international peacekeeping efforts, spoke to Anadolu Agency (AA) about his visit and the country’s contributions to global peace initiatives.

He said the U.N. and Türkiye have strong cooperation across many areas, recalling Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ recent visit to the country as another sign of this partnership. “We have a very strong and very longstanding cooperation with Türkiye in the field of peacekeeping operations,” Lacroix said.

Referring to his meetings in the capital Ankara, Lacroix said the country’s support for peacekeeping is implemented in various ways, including the presence of personnel, particularly police and officers, in U.N. missions. He also highlighted cooperation in training, saying discussions focused on how to not only maintain but also strengthen collaboration, especially in training and capacity building, which are crucial for U.N. peacekeeping operations.

Lacroix said he frequently visits peacekeeping missions worldwide, including in the Middle East and Africa, where he often encounters Turkish personnel.

“I have met Turkish peacekeepers, both men and women, very frequently in different missions, especially in Africa,” he said. He praised their performance, commitment and professionalism as “remarkable,” adding that this provides a strong basis for increasing Türkiye’s presence in peacekeeping.

Despite financial constraints faced by the U.N., Lacroix said they hope conditions will improve and reiterated their willingness to expand Türkiye’s role. “We very much look forward to not only continuing but increasing our cooperation with Türkiye,” he said.

During his visit, the peacekeeping chief also toured the Turkish Police Academy, describing it as an institution providing extensive peacekeeping training with potential for further cooperation. He said Türkiye has significant expertise in areas critical to U.N. operations, including training and equipping peacekeepers, using digital technologies effectively and combating disinformation. “We will continue from our point of view to make every effort to increase further the safety and security,” he said, emphasizing the importance of cooperation with member states like Türkiye through training, lessons learned and sharing best practices.

Lacroix underlined their strong willingness to work with partner countries such as Türkiye that have the capacity to contribute to addressing emerging challenges and adapting to evolving technologies.

Speaking about Türkiye’s role in Kosovo, Lacroix said there is “excellent interaction” with the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) as well as cooperation with the U.N. Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), which works to bring different communities together. He said this reflects the U.N.’s broader approach to peacebuilding, which includes not only political leadership but also efforts to unite societies. “We need to provide better security with our military and police, prevent cease-fires from collapsing, and bring together all these dimensions,” he said. He stressed that integrating and coordinating different aspects of peace efforts is essential for achieving success or increasing the chances of reaching desired outcomes.

Protecting peacekeepers

Addressing recent tensions involving Israeli attacks on Lebanon, Hezbollah’s response and incidents targeting peacekeepers, Lacroix said six peacekeepers had been killed in recent weeks, and investigations are ongoing.

He stressed that protecting peacekeepers is primarily the responsibility of parties to a conflict. “The responsibility for protecting the safety and security of peacekeepers is a responsibility of the parties to a conflict, and those obligations have to be reaffirmed, as well as the fact that crimes against peacekeepers may also constitute war crimes,” he warned.

Lacroix highlighted that the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has long operated in a dangerous environment and that peacekeepers continue to take measures to protect themselves. He also explained the distinction between peacekeeping and warfare. “Peacekeepers are peacekeepers. Yes, they can use force to defend themselves. They can use force to defend their mandate, but it’s different,” he said. “Peacekeeping is different from war, and I think that has to be understood by all.”

Lacroix said the U.N. will continue efforts to enhance the safety and security of peacekeeping personnel.

He argued that cooperation with countries like Türkiye is essential in this regard. “We are operating in a polarized environment, under increasingly dangerous conditions and financial constraints,” he said. “But I think the key message is that our peacekeepers, including Turkish peacekeepers, every single day make a huge difference. They protect hundreds of thousands of civilians, help maintain cease-fires and support states in building capacity and the rule of law.”

Lacroix thanked the Turkish personnel serving in peacekeeping missions, saying their contributions in challenging conditions are invaluable.

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