... Turkey has no patience with calls for the grant of autonomy to the Kurds. Ankara believes that the grant of autonomy could be the thin edge of a wedge and could lead to the breaking away of the territory - its prime asset base over the coming decade. In the aftermath of Mr.

Ocalan's arrest, analysts sympathetic to Turkey have once again revived their notion of a possible middle ground. They advocate that the Kurds be given broader cultural and linguistic rights while in the political sphere they can rely on the Turkish democratic processes like everyone else does. However, while it is easy for outsiders to advance such ideas, the Turks will probably ponder that the enhancement of the Kurds linguistic and cultural rights will induce other ethnic minorities such as the Georgians or the Circassions to raise similar demands.

Mr. Bulent Ecevit ... has said no concession will be considered until the PKK rebels lay down their arms. While unequivocally ruling out any grant of political autonomy, he has hinted that concessions in the social and economic spheres could be taken up once the rebellion is wound up. At present, the teaching of the Kurdish language and the publication of Kurdish material are banned and even their identity is denied since they are referred to as "Turks of Kurdish origin" ...

At the moment, Turkey appears to be at the crossroads where opportunities beckon in many directions. It could be guided by the urge for revenge against the PKK, a group it refers to as "baby-killers", try Ocalan and impose the death penalty on him under the draconian military laws and go all out to crush the PKK and Kurds suspected of sympathising with him. Or, it could take the opportunity to  brush up its democratic image, giving Ocalan a fair trial (which could still result in the death penalty) and seek to draw the Kurds into the mainstream with imaginative concessions ... (Source: The Hindu, 14 March, 1999)