BDP lauded for ending boycott

 Analysts agree that with the party’s return, the possibility of solving the Kurdish problem in Parliament becomes greater, while the use of violence to settle the issue becomes more meaningless.

Yeni Şafak’s Ali Bayramoğlu interprets the BDP’s decision to return to Parliament as the first important and positive development since the original oath crisis following the general elections and the subsequent escalating wave of terrorism. “It is obvious how pressing the Kurdish problem is. It is obvious that the only way to stop the violence is through politics. Therefore the BDP’s decision to return to Parliament has both symbolic and practical importance. It is of practical importance because the possibility of Parliament being the venue for a solution to the Kurdish problem as well as the drafting of a new constitution increases. It is of symbolic importance because in an environment where the doors of politics are open and there is dialogue, the use of violence can have no meaning. The BDP’s return to Parliament was necessary for the continuation of the process, and it has come to pass,” explains Bayramoğlu.

Milliyet’s Hasan Cemal also welcomes the BDP’s decision to return to Parliament as a positive development toward achieving peace, while voicing his wish that the PKK declare an unconditional cease-fire and that a ban which prevents jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan from meeting with his lawyers be lifted. Cemal thinks all of these things would prompt the formation of a more peaceful atmosphere in the country, increasing the prospects for achieving a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue and ending violence.

Amidst all the tension and difficulties in the country, the BDP’s announcement that it will return to Parliament on Oct. 1 is good news, says Taraf’s Ahmet Altan, in an implicit reference to the rise of violence in the country. “The BDP’s return to Parliament nourishes hope for peace. I think they made the best decision both for Kurds and Turks. I hope we have come to a place where we can solve problems without killing and dying, since we have been unable to solve anything with deaths so far,” Altan suggests.