Is the Turkish government returning to the idea of reconciliation with the Kurds? Is another “Kurdish opening” possible? Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s early July visit to Diyarbakir province, a major Kurdish area, rekindled hopes that this might happen.

Some observers came to the conclusion that the unexpected visit was the result of Erdogan's realization that he will need a segment of the Kurdish vote to win the 2023 presidential election. And Erdogan was quite pleased to announce that a mayor from the Dicle district of the province, was joining the president's Justice and Development Party (AKP). 

At the same time, a quick scan of the news indicates violence against the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which speaks up for Kurdish and other minority rights, continues. 

On June 17, a young woman working at the Izmir HDP building, Deniz Poyraz, was brutally murdered. In less than a month following the vicious hate crime, there were two other armed attacks on HDP, one in the Aegean town of Marmaris and another in Istanbul. Threats to HDP strongholds in various cities have become almost routine.