Erdogan’s Poor package (II) : Turkish reforms – how does the West see it?

1 October 2013 / World Monitor – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s democratic reform package has a mixed reception from the foreign press.

Most picked up on the lifting of the headscarf ban in state institutions and education in Kurdish language in private schools as the key areas of reform. “Erdogan eases headscarf ban as Kurds say reform plan falls short” was the Bloomberg Businessweek headline. Kurdish human rights lawyer Sezgin Tanrikulu also quoted, says the reforms “fail to amend anti-terror laws and other legislation used to jail Kurdish politicians.” Most of the press linked the introduction of the Kurdish language reforms to the peace process with the outlawed PKK, and its political wing, the BDP. Some of the other reforms include the llifting of restrictions on using Kurdish alphabet and place names which will be able to revert back to their orginal Kurdish place names. http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=119522