Erdogan Unifying His Opposition
Turkish Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s best option is democratization.
As this article is being written, on June 22, 2013, Turkey appears to be relatively calm when compared to previous weeks. It is therefore time to attempt a general overview of the colossal damage the Gezi Park uprising has inflicted upon Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government.
What is tragic for Erdogan is that this social explosion was caused by wrong decisions that he personally made and did not deviate from.
The Gezi Park resistance has already caused some serious consequences. More could follow, depending on the future moves of political and social actors.
Starting with those whose final ramifications depend on how the actors act, we can put "the peace process with the Kurds” at the top of the list. At the moment, the PKK is gradually withdrawing its armed elements from Turkey to their bases in Iraqi Kurdistan. As this process moves along, the PKK is expecting Ankara to take some steps in the context of confidence-building measures.
