TODAY'S ZAMAN | ANKARA

Amid renewed talks of a solution to the decades-long Kurdish problem in the Turkish capital, observers have expressed their concern over possible incidents that might outrage the public and may eventually derail the ongoing process.

They have asked for steadfastness on the part of the government and patience from the public to maintain the drive to look for solutions to the issue.

Among the possible scenarios that were cited by various analysts were the possible bloodshed in major city centers in Turkey which could be attributed to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) or the killing of Turkish soldiers in the southeastern part of the country, leading to a major offensive by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), possibly including a cross-border operation stretching to northern Iraq.

Observers have even raised the possibility that rogue elements embedded deep within the state may plan violent acts to assign the blame to Kurds or the military, in the hopes of inflaming public furor over the bloodshed and to pit different segments of society against each other.

The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party's (DTP) deputy Hasip Kaplan urges the government to act rapidly on a recently announced government plan which pinpoints further democratization and a broadening of rights as major pillars of the solution package. “I think the government should immediately take steps to implement these decisions,” he told Today's Zaman, warning that gangs and illegal organizations will do everything in their power to halt the process.

Kaplan also asked the media and civic organizations to act responsibly in the face of provocative acts instigated by these gangs to derail process. “They [the publishers and community leaders] have a responsibility to maintain common sense among the public and should pressure the government to find real perpetrators” he noted.

The DTP deputy further asked the military to refrain from major offensives in predominantly Kurdish populated regions out of fear that clashes and funerals serve to inflame public emotions and hurt the solution-finding process. “If there is a real consensus among the state branches, including the military, in finding a solution to Kurdish problem, security agencies, both the police and the military, should avoid engaging in offensives,” he underlined. Interior Minister Beşir Atalay on Wednesday confirmed that the government is working on a comprehensive solution package to end the long-running Kurdish problem; however, he declined to go into details of the plan. He said, “Turkey will implement Kurdish policies based on a model unique to the country's own history and current conditions.”

A major point in Atalay's speech was his emphasis on further democratization and a broadening of rights. “The government will continue to take determined and courageous steps to solve the Kurdish problem, which has cost Turkey dearly on many fronts,” he said. As part of the recent initiatives, sources say PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan may eventually agree to meet with the DTP leader and the party's deputies. Erdoğan has so far refused to meet with DTP leader Ahmet Türk on the grounds that the DTP refuses to distance itself from the PKK or openly denounce PKK violence.

The last scheduled appointment between Türk and Erdoğan on May 29 was cancelled after a land mine planted by the PKK killed six soldiers. Erdoğan said whenever he tried to meet with DTP deputies, the PKK staged attacks. “The minute you decide to take a step, bombs explode,” said Erdoğan in June. Türk has been requesting a meeting with the prime minister since the July 22 general elections in 2007.