Talks aimed at ending a 40-year-old militant conflict are signaling a peace process in Turkey. However, Kurdish forces currently remain in Syria and uncertainty about Ankara's intentions have left many Kurds anxious about a future peace.
Abdullah Ocalan, jailed head of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, has been cited as indicating a willingness to call for the PKK to lay down arms. This would signal an end to the insurgency he launched against Turkey in 1984.
Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party met Ocalan in late December and has since held talks with other parties including President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party (AKP). Considering Ocalan's proposal, both sides described the talks as positive.
DEM Party parliamentary group deputy chair Gulistan Kilic Kocyigit said the party expects a roadmap for establishing legal frameworks in the upcoming meeting with Ocalan. He further argued Turkey should accept that Kurds have a say in the future of Syria.
The leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party, Ozgur Ozel, said a parliamentary commission should be set up with all parties to address the problems faced by Kurds.
Ultimately, the government faces a balancing act given the widespread enmity among most Turks towards Ocalan and the PKK after four decades of bloodshed, many opposing the idea of peace talks at all.
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