Analysts examining the different aspects of the initiative say its success depends on several criteria, such as the issue' being distanced from the influence of the military, it bringing more democracy to everyone, not only Kurds, and it being properly explained to various segments of society. According to Sabah's Mehmet Barlas, the democratization initiative to solve the Kurdish problem, being different from similar initiatives in the past, is a quest to turn the differences in Turkey into richness and synergy. He says for this initiative to succeed, the supremacy of law should be ensured, fundamental rights and freedoms should be granted to all and the equality of everyone before the law should be maintained as he emphasizes that this initiative is not aimed at meeting the expectations of the Kurdish citizens alone, but is in the interests of all. Recalling a similar reform initiative during the Ottoman era, the Tanzimat in 1826, which attempted to integrate non-Muslims and non-Turks more thoroughly into Ottoman society by enhancing their civil liberties and granting them equality throughout the empire, Barlas says the tragic result of the failure of the Tanzimat was the eventual dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. “Today, the countries where different ethnic groups fail to live side-by-side face a tragic end very quickly. See Yugoslavia, the Soviets and Iraq,” says Barlas.
Noting that the democratization initiative is a political movement that should be carried out by the politicians, Taraf's Ahmet Altan says this initiative is not the military's concern. Recalling remarks made by Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ, who recently tried to ease the concerns of those who are disturbed by the government's democratization initiative and said, “There is no reason to be worried about the Kurdish initiative, the military is here,” Altan says the military may see itself as the guardian of the regime, but the public does not support its assumption of such a role and awaits the solution of Turkey's long-standing problems. “We all change, we abandon our fears, we become bored with nonsensical practices and want problems to be solved with reasonable proposals. This is a feeling we are so unfamiliar with, we cannot put a name to it. I think someone should come up and say, ‘Don't worry, you have abandoned your fears and you are surprised because you are very unfamiliar with this feeling',” says Altan.
Star's Berat Özipek talks about a segment within the ranks of the AK Party which opposes every reform and democratization step, suggesting that if the AK Party really wants to solve the Kurdish problem, it has to confront this segment of the party first. “Everyone in this country has been infected with the state ideology more or less. Now the AK Party government is getting ready to handle an 80-year-old problem of Turkey, and it tries to ease concerns to this effect. But it is not possible to achieve this before treating the neo-nationalist disease within its own ranks. If the AK Party is to solve the Kurdish problem, it has to begin with itself. It should first explain to its party organization that the democratic initiative will solve the Kurdish problem. I do not mean the senior party officials who seem to be conservative democrats but are pro-status quo, I mean the party grass roots. The AK Party should address its grass roots immediately and begin to eliminate the pervasive propaganda there. Only then can it speak to other circles about this initiative,” suggests Özipek.
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