In the initiative, ‘no’ to start over, ‘yes’ to full speed

We have learned from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on his way to Pakistan that the government has decided to take a time out in the Kurdish initiative.

The decision has come after the National Security Council, or MGK, meeting on the very evening of the return of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, terrorists.

During a governmental evaluation, Erdoğan reacted against video images, but more importantly he focused on the militants’ uniforms. He found this unacceptable.

Everyone has showed similar reactions. We have launched the Kurdish initiative on good will and made a wish, “Hope this will not be as it was in 1999.” But we don’t see what we expect.

On that evening, that wish turned into “If this is the way how they will act, let’s not do it.”

Coordination problem

The decision was not announced promptly. Erdoğan instead remarked the next day in the city of Ağrı that he was expecting the return of all PKK members.

The government experienced disappointment, but was able to self criticize. Mainly, and naturally, Interior Minister Beşir Atalay, as the coordinator of the entire process, was on target.

Atalay may need more support and cooperation with relevant ministers and bureaucrats.

For instance, sending judges to the border gate and taking depositions of the PKK militants in uniform is a “reasoned” ministerial decision in essence.

Or in other words, the coordinator may have not seen any serious problem in this or have failed to predict flaws during the return of the PKK members.

Despite the negative picture, governmental efforts will continue to bring the PKK down from the mountain and dissolve the organization.

Here are a few clues about the next steps.

Panic at the headquarters

Although for different reasons, Atalay and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu will visit the northern Iraqi city of Arbil soon. Let’s pay attention to the visit.

At this point, I believe it is enough to say that the government will make necessary attempts to encourage Massoud Barzani, the leader of the Northern Iraq Regional Administration, for adopting an effective stance and taking some more actions in the subject matter.

But don’t jump to the conclusion that the government will skip the PKK and the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP.

Yes, the government flirts with the thought that “methods followed so far did not work to settle the issue; so we should try something new,” but everything has a limit.

Let’s look at the future steps of the government in the Kurdish initiative. In order to speak Kurdish in prisons prisoners had to prove that they didn’t speak Turkish, but instead a new regulation paving the way for Kurdish broadcasts is about to be released. Besides, with the help of another regulation, statements from prisoners will be enough for them to speak Kurdish in prison.

The government will reach the standards applied in western Turkey when it comes to the number of check points and military activities in the east. Plus, regulation on children throwing stones to the police will be discussed in Parliament within two weeks.

The subheading is about the Action Plan against Erdoğan…

As a military officer sent a note and the original copy of the action plan to the prosecutor’s office, the reality has been revealed. Erdoğan implicitly confirmed the move.

Let me give you a detail about the note here:

It was an unusual day in the military headquarters. They were panicked and focused on the details of the note. You are free to read this any way you like.

• Mr. Şükrü Küçükşahin is a columnist for the daily Hürriyet in which this piece appeared Monday. It was translated into English by the Daily News staff.