At Beyaz TV last week, I worked on preparing a program about the life of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After a taping with him, we had an opportunity for a chat. I told the prime minister I was contributing articles to Al-Monitor, which has become an important website tracking the pulse of the Middle East. He was glad to hear it. We then spoke of the democratization package at the top of Turkey's agenda these days. Erdogan and his associates see the package of reforms as the “second silent revolution,” tackling a number of issues until now considered taboo and therefore unaddressed in the 90 years of the republic.

The democratization package, on which the Justice and Development Party (AKP) is putting the final touches, covers a range of topics while focusing on four main issues: the peace process with the Kurds and resolution of the Kurdish issue, the Alevi issue, solutions to the problems of non-Muslim communities and the injustices of the Feb. 28, 1997, coup. AKP staffers say the core of the reforms covers a range of injustices. 

The package is expected to be disclosed by Erdogan at a news conference dedicated to introducing it. The final contents will be approved at a meeting of the government. In addition to the steps to be taken in the context of the peace process, others are expected to include anti-discrimination measures, punishment for hate crimes, lifting restrictions on head scarves and expanding the boundaries of the freedoms of expression and protest.

Another important part of the package concerns the elimination of practices that have drawn criticism from Europe and resulted in Turkey being indicted too many times at the European Court of Human Rights. In this respect, Erdogan hopes to reshape the Turkish legal system to conform with the criteria of the European court. The following democratization measures are among those expected to feature in the package.