ANKARA — Turkey's prime minister on Monday announced a long-awaited package of proposals aimed at democratic reform, including lifting some restrictions on the use of the Kurdish language and on wearing Islamic headscarves. The reforms are seen as key to the political prospects of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the powerful leader, who has faced down a flurry of protests by Turks weary of what they consider his heavy-handed rule. Erdogan and his party face a series of elections over the next two years, but it was unclear if the reforms would go far enough to appease his critics, energize his conservative base and help restore momentum to peace negotiations with a Kurdish minority that has been seeking more autonomy. Erdogan called the reforms a historic step in solidifying Turkey's democracy. “Turkey is progressing in an irrevocable way on the path of democratization,” he said. “We are lifting the ban in public institutions,” said the prime minister. Turkey will end a ban that bars women from wearing the Islamic-style headscarf in state institutions, part of the government's long-awaited package of proposed human-rights reforms, Erdogan said on Monday in a major policy speech. The new rules will not apply to the judiciary or the military. Muslim but secular Turkey has long had tough restrictions on the garb worn by women working in state offices. Erdogan said the so-called “democratization package” would also allow for education in languages other than Turkish at non-state schools, another long-held demand by Kurdish politicians. “Today our country, our nation, is experiencing an historic moment. It is passing through a very important stage. We are taking important steps to make Turkey even greater,” Erdogan told a specially convened news conference in Ankara. Erdogan said parliament would debate whether to reduce the threshold for a political party to enter parliament to 5 percent of the national vote, or even eliminate the barrier completely and introduce a “narrowing” of the current constituency system. However, the leader of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) said the proposals failed to go far enough to advance peace with the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which this month halted its withdrawal of fighters from Turkish territory on grounds that the government was not moving swiftly enough to see through its end of the deal. The current 10 percent threshold, among the highest in the world, has kept pro-Kurdish groupings outside of parliament and has been one of the main grievances of Turkey's Kurds who make up around a fifth of the country's population. “Our people's greatest wish is to strengthen our domestic peace, further our social cohesion and solidarity, and fortify our tranquillity,” Erdogan said. While Erdogan reiterated that the proposed reforms are not directly linked with efforts to end the 29-year conflict with the outlawed PKK, the changes are largely viewed as an effort to advance the flagging peace process. Erdogan acknowledged the package would not meet all expectations, but he called the reforms more comprehensive than any previous steps in the history of the republic. Some of the reforms would still need parliamentary approval, but with a strong majority, Erdogan's party can pass them without opposition support. Despite the omission of addressing the Greek seminary, Peter Stano, a spokesman for EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule, said that the commission welcomed the announced reforms, which it is still studying. – Agencies
