Kurdish question a Turkish initiative

ANKARA, Turkey, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- The government in Turkey is moving ahead with its Kurdish initiative to satisfy national interests, not those of Europe or the United States, analysts say.

Pressure is mounting on leaders in Ankara to find a solution to the 25-year conflict that has taken its toll on the Turkish military and the political influence of the ruling Justice and Development Party.

National security officials in Turkey called on interior ministers to move forward with plans that provide economic assistance, cultural recognition and other concessions to ethnic Kurds.

David Phillips, a fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington, said the Turkish government has its own interests in mind in its pursuit of a solution to the Kurdish question.

"It is a democratic project, which is conceived of and prosecuted by the government of Turkey on behalf of the Turkish people," he told Turkish daily Today's Zaman.

Phillips hosted a recent Washington summit outlining ways in which Turkish and Iraqi Kurds could move in unison to find a solution to the lingering Kurdish issue.

Apart from political issues stemming from the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, which saw gains in the March municipal elections, the region is troubled by the activity of the Turkish separatist group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

Kurdish sympathizers are awaiting their own initiative from imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.