Can Davuto?lu drop Turkey's Kurdish bid for an MHP coalition?

A group of parliamentary deputies called on the Turkish government to resume the Kurdish peace bid immediately on July 3, after the peace process was shelved two months before the June 7 general election campaign.

The deputies are members of the Kurdish problem-focused Peoples? Democratic Party (HDP) who had been mediating between the Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) government and Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers? Party (PKK). That process had started in 2012, after being initiated by (then prime minister, now president) Tayyip Erdo?an. In their call, the deputies also requested permission to visit Öcalan in ?mral? Island prison, in the Marmara Sea south of Istanbul, in order to conduct post-election consultations, which they have been unable to do since the freezing of the peace process back in April.

The MPs also raised their concerns about the possibility of a Turkish military operation against the Kurdish-controlled regions of Syria along the border. The message carried a hidden threat that the HDP could stir public demonstrations in border cities against the recent military build-up in the area, which the government has explained as a measure against possible threats from the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) in Syria.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu said in a TV interview on July 2 that there was no plan to enter Syria unilaterally, but it could retaliate if attacked.

Davuto?lu is actually heading for a crossroads that he wants to postpone for as long as possible, at least until the first week of August. On Aug. 1-4, Supreme Military Council (YA?) meetings are due to take place, during which the Turkish military?s top command will change. The current Chief of General Staff...