Saturday Mothers: “We Will Keep Asking Until Our Missing Are Found”

ISTANBUL — The Saturday Mothers, a group that has gathered every week for decades to demand justice for forcibly disappeared persons in Turkey, reaffirmed their resolve this weekend. “We will keep asking: Where are our missing?” the group said in a statement. “Until our missing are found, until the truth is revealed, and until those responsible are held to account.” The group, also known as the Saturday People, has held its vigil since 1995. They protest the unresolved cases of individuals who vanished during political unrest in the 1980s and 1990s. Participants say they will not stop their weekly demonstrations. They argue that as long as the state denies responsibility, the full truth cannot emerge. The group’s demand remains unchanged: accountability, information, and the return of their loved ones—or at least the facts of what happened to them.