Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has launched a bold campaign to end the country's long-running Kurdish problem.

The approach is multi-pronged. On the one hand, it is enacting a raft of domestic reforms tailored to respond to the Kurds' demands for greater cultural rights. On the other hand, it is seeking a formula to disarm and disband the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PKK, which frequently resorts to terrorist acts against civilians, is based in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. Recent moves by Ankara to engage the Iraqi Kurds has helped win them support to move against the PKK. But a growing number of Turks worry that the government's actions will further stoke Kurdish separatism and their fears are being fanned by leading opposition parties. It will take all of the government's courage and skills to strike a balance between satisfying the Kurds and reassuring the general public that its plans will benefit all sides by ushering a new era of peace.