Lower thirds:

00:02 Report by Julia Hahn
00:27 Museher Ulker | Mother of PKK fighter
00:36 Source: PKK footage/Gerila TV via Reuters
00:50 File
01:00 Source: Turkish Defense Ministry
01:12 May 2025
01:29 Recep Tayyip Erdogan | Turkish President | May 12, 2025
02:50 Aysel Gurel | Mother of fallen Turkish soldier
03:33 Museher Ulker | Mother of PKK fighter

Script:

+++Müşeher with photo of Zeki  

00:02 
A few photos… that's all Müşeher Ülker has left of her son Zeki. 

He joined the PKK – a designated terror group – in 2012,  

when he was still a teenager. 

Müşeher hasn't seen him since. 

00:17
+++SOT Museher Ulker / Mother of PKK fighter (Kurdish) - overlaid with Julia listening 
"He said: 'Mother, I'm saying goodbye to you. I'm going to the mountains of Kurdistan.' – I told him not to. 'You're too young', I said, 'Don't go.' [...] I haven't seen my son for 13 years. I want him to come back to me. I miss him very much."+++ (17 sec) 
 
+++Transition  

+++File images of PKK fighters -- Insert source: PKK footage/Gerila TV via Reuters

00:36
Like Zeki, tens of thousands of young men and women have joined the  

PKK – since it took up arms against Turkey in 1984,  

in response to political repression of the Kurdish minority.  

+++Ocalan with PKK fighters, Insert: File 

00:48
The group originally sought to establish an independent state and later shifted  
 
its focus to demanding autonomy and greater rights for Kurds. 

+++Fighter jet and explosion, Insert source: Turkish Defense Ministry at TC: 01:01-01:05 

00:58
The conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives.... and spilled over into

 +++DW MAP Kurdish populated areas in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran

neighboring Syria, Iraq and Iran, where Kurds also make up  
 
significant minorities. 

+++PKK announcement, Ocalan photo animated, Insert: May 2025 
 
01:11
But in May, the PKK agreed to lay down its arms and disband – in response to an  
 
appeal by its imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan. 

+++Erdogan  

01:22
Turkish President Erdogan has said a disbanding of the PKK 

would mark a new beginning for his country. 

01:27
+++SOT Recep Tayyip Erdogan / Turkish President (Turkish) Insert date: 12.05.2025 
"With the complete elimination of terror and violence, doors to a new era will open up in every area, first and foremost for the empowerment of politics and enhancement of democratic capacity."+++ (18 sec)

+++Street images Diyarbakır  

01:45
In the southeastern city of Diyarbakir -- often called Turkey's unofficial Kurdish capital -- many people told us that they 

long for peace.  

01:54
+++VOX Man R-L (Turkish)
We're hopeful about the new process. As the people of this region, we're hopeful. I think it has to happen.+++ (7 sec) 

+++Street images Diyarbakir  

02:02
But among Turkey's Kurds, who make up some 20 percent of the population… there is also widespread distrust of the government's commitment to peace.  

02:10
+++VOX Man L-R (Turkish)
We've seen many peace attempts. Hopefully, this one won't be sabotaged like the others. We want peace... But we no longer trust it.+++ (12 sec) 

+++Cemetery Istanbul 

+++ATMO 

02:24
Many Turks also have doubts. 

Several peace efforts between Ankara and the PKK failed, most recently in 2015. 

Leading to more hostilities. And death. 

+++Aysel at her son's grave 
 
02:37
At this cemetery in Istanbul Aysel Gürel mourns for her son Halil.  

He was a soldier in the Turkish army… and killed in a PKK attack in 2017. 

02:48
+++Aysel Gurel (Turkish)  / Mother of fallen Turkish soldier (Turkish) 
I hope the PKK won't betray us. If they promise peace and do the opposite, and more soldiers die — then that's worthless. [...] But if a Turkey without terrorism is possible, if no more of our children die – then I will support my country in every way.+++ (24 sec) 

+++Erdogan

03:13
So far, the government hasn't made any promises about what the PKK will get in return  
 
for its disarmament – at least not publicly.  

+++Müşeher Ülker and friend 

03:21
It's also not clear what the peace effort will bring for Turkey's Kurdish minority.
 
Müşeher Ülker thinks her son Zeki is still with the PKK - and hopes he will be allowed to come back to her.

03:33
+++SOT Museher Ulker / Mother of PKK fighter (Kurdish) 
Enough is enough. I am heart broken – all Kurdish mothers are. [...] If this peace process is real, let the government issue a general amnesty. This is what we want [...] Our children should have a home to return to and work – so that they can build new lives.+++ (22 secs) 
 
+++Müşeher hugs friend goodbye, leaves house 

03:56
Müşeher doesn't know what the future holds for her and her son, 

but lasting peace, she says, 

requires more than silencing the guns. 

Text ends: 04:05
Pics end: 04:09