At an almost hour-long press conference, he said that the details of the initiative have not yet been finalized and their efforts will continue. “What we are trying to do is to form a common mind. In all our meetings, what we saw was that there is a strong consensus on the need to solve this issue, end the terrorism and improve democratic standards. We expect that everybody should make an effort and take responsibility,” he said. Analyst say Atalay did not mention any concrete steps to be taken, but tried to counter the criticisms of some circles and allay their concerns. “Atalay did not reveal a package for the Kurdish initiative. He tried to explain the method the government has taken to solve the Kurdish problem and countered criticisms that argue the government is not coming up with a concrete proposal,” says Sabah's Nazlı Ilıcak, commenting on the statement Atalay made on Monday. She says the kind of steps the government will take regarding this initiative are more or less clear as everyone is sure that the unitary structure of the state will not be open to debate, no concessions will be made from the “one nation, one country” obsession and there is no plan to change the status of Turkish as the official language as feared by opposition parties. However, she says that with the start of the new legislative year, the amendment of some constitutional articles will come to the agenda and the boundaries of an amnesty foreseen for the members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) will be discussed. If the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) makes a big fuss over this, Ilıcak says, the government cannot cover any distance in this initiative. Questioning whether acting like the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) will bring any benefits to the CHP, she says she has serious doubts about this and believes that if the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government acts with common sense, it can lay the groundwork for a solid cooperation with CHP leader Deniz Baykal.
Star's Mehmet Altan says Atalay talked more about the steps that will not be taken during the solution process than the steps that will because the government feels cornered by the opposition and the concerns of the CHP, the MHP and the military, hence it acts reluctantly. He thinks the only way to erase all those fears is the European Union and the compass is in its progress report. “It is necessary to press the button with great political courage without listening to the reactions of the MHP and the military. The republic should be rapidly democratized so that the Kurdish question does not turn into a live hand grenade because of the hesitant atmosphere. I understand that there is the need for time and the issue is very intricate, but there is no chance of the democratic initiative being successful without opposition to [the opposition in] Ankara. Democracy is not the property of this land; it belongs to the world. Hence, we cannot discuss the issue like Turks and solve it like world citizens,” suggests Altan.
Although Radikal's Hasan Celal Güzel says those who were expecting to hear some concrete steps from Atalay were disappointed, he thinks it is the right thing to choose Parliament as the venue where the steps in the Kurdish initiative will be made public. Making a general assessment, Güzel finds the course of the “democratization initiative” successful thus far. “Putting aside some important perspectives and proposals that have been brought forward, the creation of an environment for democratic debate and a successful psychological environment in society is useful,” he says.
