WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- The push by the Turkish government to tackle issues with its Kurdish minority depends in part on the initiatives offered by Kurdish rebels, analysts say.
Ankara is considering a sweeping agenda meant to allay much of the opposition emanating from Kurdish groups upset with government pressure on the minority.
The government had considered lifting some restrictions on pro-Kurdish television broadcasts, facilitating militant reconciliation measures and providing relocation assistance to internally displaced persons.
Decades of military conflict with the PKK have taken a toll on the Turkish military, while the ruling Justice and Development Party suffered a defeat at the hands of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party in March municipal elections.
Kurdish groups, meanwhile, are considering their own set of initiatives, which may include suggestions from the leadership of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.
Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK, is set to announce his own framework on the so-called Kurdish question on Aug. 15, the date the PKK first took up arms against Turkey in 1984.
Henri Barkey, a regional expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, tells Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that pending statements from Ocalan may have a mixed result.
On one hand, Barkey notes, Ankara cannot be seen as catering to PKK initiatives, but it also cannot risk upsetting the Kurdish minority, which views Ocalan as a hero.
"If Ocalan says abandon the armed struggle then it is going to be much easier to demilitarize the PKK and also to have a meaningful amnesty law," he says. "So, (Ankara) will ignore (his statements) but use it at the same time."
