ANKARA, Turkey, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A series of constitutional amendments backed by Turkish voters during the weekend could ease ethnic tensions in the country, an analyst said.
A package of 26 amendments to the Turkish constitution passed during the weekend. The ruling Justice and Development Party backed the measure in part to move closer to the European Union.
Analysts told Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman that an effort to block the referendum by opposition parties in the country were only partially successful.
Mazhar Bagli, a sociologist at Dicle University in Diyarbakir, told the newspaper, meanwhile, the reforms could ease tensions with the Kurdish minority in the country.
"The referendum results indicate that a psychological barrier for the solution of the Kurdish question has been overcome," he told the newspaper. "We are at an important crossroads."
Turkey is trying to recover from clashes with the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in a conflict that has spanned more than 25 years. More than 30,000 people have died in the fighting through the years.
The militant group said it would halt attacks until Monday but would respond if engaged by military forces.
A bombing in the Kurdish south of Turkey killed nine people Thursday, though CNN reports the PKK denied it was connected to the attack.
