BY HALUK SAHIN
RADIKAL - Many people have already predicted that the process of Turkey's democratic initiative to address Turkey's Kurdish issue wouldn't be easy. But certain circles painted rosy scenarios and raised expectations too high. Meanwhile, some Kurdish extremists saw an opportunity and started to make loud noises. The nationalists, hearing these stunning demands in the new atmosphere of freedom, grew alarmed. Harsh accusations started to fly. Even some people from the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party were worried they had lost control.
Now we've reached a point where we can't go back but it's very hard to go forward. Responsibility for getting the country through this bottleneck belongs to the government and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. So maybe what is needed is for Erdogan to visit opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal and give him details of the plan. This way he would address Baykal's justified objection that he won't support anything that he doesn't know. They might reach a consensus on the least common denominator and so clear the way. Otherwise the process will grind to a halt, and this would be followed by deep frustration. This would be a shame for the country as well.
Another factor which has poisoned debate over the process is that the opposition suspects there's an American plan behind this. Erdogan has demanded that those who make this argument produce proof. Actually Erdogan is partially right, but the other side isn't completely wrong, either. There's no American plan, but there is an American calendar. As the US will soon leave Iraq, it wants Turkey to solve its PKK problem quickly. That's why months and even weeks are important. As long as the US gets the PKK to leave its camps in the mountains and lay down their arms, the content of the plan isn't so important for the US. That's what makes this moment an opportunity for all the parties. This is the greatest opportunity offered in recent times. But it could be missed if necessary steps aren't taken.