JINHA

ISTANBUL –The Saturday Mothers continued their quest for justice yesterday, gathering in Istanbul's Galatasaray Square for their weekly protest, which coincided this week with the International Week against Enforced Disappearances in Custody (May 17-31).

The group carried the photographs of their missing relatives and loved ones in Istanbul's downtown Taksim district for their weekly sit-in. Ali Ocak, speaking at the demonstration, said, "We have been trying to get our voices heard around the word in this square for 20 years. We are struggling for the exposure and punishment of the perpetrators of the forced disappearances of our loved ones. In this square, we are speaking to the conscience of society. We are calling for the accounting and reconciling with the state and its agents' dirty politics."

"In Europe, our comrades are searching for the fates of those who have been lost under arrest—their older brothers, their siblings, their loved ones," said Isaías Barreñada, of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network. "As long as there is no punishment for these crimes, it's not possible to talk about peace, democracy and human rights."

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