Öcalan insistence on being involved remains primary obstacle

They also underlined that a government decision to halt the return of groups of people affiliated with the PKK after one such group that surrendered was met by a festive crowd last week is related to this ambition of the PKK and Öcalan, adding that the government has made mistakes in handling the returning groups.

The first group turned itself in at the behest of terrorist leader Öcalan, who is serving life in prison on İmralı Island in the Sea of Marmara. He urged the return of groups from the Kandil Mountains, where the PKK has a camp, from the Makhmur refugee camp and from Europe.

A group from Europe was expected to arrive on Oct. 28, just one day before the anniversary of the proclamation of the Turkish Republic in 1923, but the government has decided to halt the return of individuals linked to the PKK for now in order to reassess the democratization process due to agitation among various segments of society.

Speaking through his lawyers, Öcalan stated that the PKK had done its part and that it is now the government's turn. He also added that he will not urge further groups to surrender, noting that he had tested his power through last week's returns.

But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told a group of reporters over the weekend while on his way to Pakistan that the government initiative to solve the decades-old Kurdish question is a state project and that the government is in dialogue with the nation.

“It is never possible for us to have talks or negotiations with any illegal person or organizations. We only talk with legal organizations,” Erdoğan added.

Yılmaz Ensaroğlu from the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) and human rights activists said the state had seized “Öcalan's road map,” a 160-page document proposing solutions prepared by the terror group leader in mid-August. The public prosecutor has yet to hand the report to his lawyers.

“The government has frequently said it would not have any talks with the PKK or Öcalan. Öcalan then urged the return of these groups and asked them to do it within four days. He was not testing his power. Instead, he was challenging the government,” Ensaroğlu told Today's Zaman.

Altan Tan, a conservative Kurdish intellectual, underlined that the “PKK and Öcalan tried to fire a shot at the government's goal, and the government's goalkeeper was caught unprepared.”

“But we still have to put the blame on the government. The PKK and Öcalan's aim is very clear. As far as I know, there were negotiations about these returns, but details were not spoken about, and those who carried out these negotiations on behalf of the government were not able to envisage all developments [that followed],” Tan told Today's Zaman.

According to Tan, the return of the groups should have taken place after legal reforms to improve democratization were carried out and after the public was prepared for such a move, not at the beginning of the process.

Tan recalled that the government had already stated it would not make any constitutional amendments and that it would not amend Article 221 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which envisages lesser punishments for members of terrorist organizations who state that they regret their actions.

“What is left is no more returns. I am afraid this process is over,” Tan argued.

Speaking over the weekend, Erdoğan said the government is assessing the process and will work to find ways to continue toward its goals.

Sedat Laçiner from the International Strategic Research Organization (ISRO/USAK) is not as pessimistic as Tan, but he does say that “excess optimism is worse than pessimism because it can lead to mistakes. The government was too optimistic about the initiative.”

“The PKK might try to impose its own conditions, but the state has much to do. It could impose conditions like bringing those who surrendered to Ankara for interrogation and banning them from making statements. I think the government was too optimistic,” he said.