By Xinhua
Ankara : A recent survey showed that 54percent of militants of the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) were people younger than 25, local newspaper Today’s Zaman reported on Tuesday.
According to the survey conducted by the National Police Department, high school and university students aged between 14and 25 were the biggest sources of recruitment for the PKK.
Security authorities noted that those students were particularly vulnerable to the recruitment attempts of the PKK, calling on parents to shoulder responsibility for protecting their youth from the grip of terrorism.
“Puberty is a critical period for young people as physiological changes seen in this period may have negative effects on them,” experts said.
Adolescents frequently complained of not being considered asgrown-ups by their parents, experts said, adding that for this reason, they might seek groups that consider them as adults.
According to the report, terrorist organizations tend to exploit family structures, friendships and economic status of those young people. Then they would launch brainwashing program that would eventually change young people’s perceptions and replace their hopes with the purpose of the organization.
Security authorities stressed that terrorism awareness should be instilled in young people, saying that “just like the preventative medicine approach, we must help our young pupils by raising their awareness of this disease of terrorism. Everyone has a responsibility in this respect.”