The Kurdish peace process is too fragile for comfort

Turkey has been plunged into a wave of blood and violence as hordes took to the streets to "protest" Turkey's inactivity in the Syrian border town of Kobani where Kurdish militia are battling with the forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

Nearly three dozen people died and massive material damage has been suffered all across the country in the protests, which were triggered when the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) complained that the Turkish government was not intervening to help the Syrian Kurdish militia in Kobani and asked the Kurds of Turkey to take to the streets to "protest" the events.

Now the same HDP people are saying they did not mean to trigger such violence and are condemning the incidents saying they intended peaceful protests and not what happened. Now, PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan has appealed from his prison cell at the İmralı Island for Kurds to avoid violence.

Let us give the HDP the benefit of the doubt despite the fact that we feel they knew well what would happen when they asked the people to take to the streets, but they did not bargain for the backlash from the Turks of Turkey and the rising public anger that would eventually swallow up the militant Kurds.

If the HDP did not intend to unleash such violent incidents then they have to realize that there are some forces in Turkey who are prepared to exploit the anger of Kurds and turn them into lethal weapons against the Turkish state thus ruining the peace process and jeopardize the future of Kurds in Turkey as well as the future of Turks of Turkey. The HDP also has to realize that their youth and some militants are prepared to go along with the saboteurs or are at least open and susceptive to exploitation.

The HDP is now obliged to halt the violence and get the people off the streets. But they have to realize that much harm has been done. You can repair the material damage and also compensate for some of the losses. But you cannot bring back the lost lives. Above all, you cannot repair the social damage that these incidents have created. There are now many people questioning the merits of the reconciliation process and this will create serious problems for the Turkish government only eight months before parliamentary elections.

Kurds of Turkey, the HDP and Öcalan have to realize that they need a strong Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government if they want a viable future in Turkey when and if the reconciliation process is successfully concluded.

We see that there are dangerous people roaming in our streets. Some are Kurdish militants and even terrorists and some others are Turkish militants and religious fanatics who are also prepared to jump the gun at every opportunity.

The reconciliation process has proven to be of great benefit for every citizen of this country. It should not be risked for Kobani or any other alibi. But the peace process will never reach a successful end when the state, as well as Kurds of Turkey, in responsible places, fail to deal with these rough elements. The Kobani protests should be a wakeup call for our authorities. They have to realize that anti-PKK fanatic Kurdish groups or any other extremists are active in our streets just like the PKK hotheads and they have to be dealt with.