There is an environment of general optimism, willingness and hope greater than ever in the country about an eventual solution to this pressing problem, which has been a great obstacle to Turkey's development over the past decades.“The recent history of the Kurdish problem is 25 years old, while its more distant history is more than 100 years old. The responsibility of solving this problem, which has become deeper with the delay of its solution, rests on the shoulders of the ‘governing elite' of today -- both the responsibility of solving it and the pride of having solved it,” says Star's Mustafa Karaalioğlu, who thinks the mission to solve this problem will make happy not only the people living in the territories of this country today but also the future generations. “Can there be a bigger honor than solving a problem which has been handed down from one generation to another as a bad legacy?” he asks. In consideration of this, he believes in the need to put the violent policies of the past aside and act with common sense because the consequences of those policies are already obvious: “To kill more and to be killed more. All those who lose their lives are sons of this nation. It is high time that we stop seeing some issues as a matter of honor. For example, it is a fact that the Turkish military will not lose this war, but, this is of no benefits to the Turkish nation.” Karaalioğlu notes that we can no longer ignore the fact that the Kurdish problem, which has turned to terrorism, is on the way of becoming a more serious problem with the polarization and alienation of the society. He says Turkey is finally taking action to solve a big problem and that the people of this country say, “Enough is enough”; hence, to impede peace efforts from this point on will mean sharing the historic responsibility of spilling the blood which has been spilled so far.
Taraf's Nabi Yağcı dwells on the importance of silence of weapons so that efforts to maintain peace will yield fruit in consideration of the fact that taking steps for peace becomes difficult when clashes continue. As one of the important steps which will be taken toward peace, he points to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreeing to meet with DTP leader Ahmet Türk, abandoning his earlier stance of not meeting with the DTP. “The fact that this meeting has been delayed thus far may turn out to be an advantage. A well-prepared meeting may lead to concrete results, which may speed up peace efforts. President Gül insistently talks about a solution, and the prime minister says the same thing as well. The DTP and Republican People's Party [CHP] leader Deniz Baykal have also taken steps; It is now the government's turn to do so. The ball is in Erdoğan's court,” suggests Yağcı.
