In our June 5 "To the Point" column we had warned the government that "the time has come to bolster the peace process." Thus it came as no surprise that the government presented a draft law to the Parliament that in effect sets the legal and administrative foundations of the current peace process and allows the government to move forward with a free hand.The PKK had been creating all kinds of obstacles to the peace process and there were alarming comments that the process would soon be derailed. Yet, we knew better. Thanks to the cool headed approach of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, common sense prevailed and the peace process went through some tough tests and remained on track. The six article draft bill on the peace process is drawing the framework of what the government will do and how.In fact it is giving everyone involved a legal armor that will allow them to take bold actions for the sake of going forward in the peace process. This process is not for the weak. It needs people who will take bold actions and thus they need legal protection.The government has learnt its lesson the hard way. National Intelligence chief Hakan Fidan rightfully held secret negotiations with the PKK. He was laying the ground for the beginning of the peace process and nearly ended up in jail because no one even dreamt that people opposed to the government would use this move to put an end to the bloodshed as an opportunity to imprison Fidan and embarrass the government.The opposition says the draft bill is empty and thus there is nothing in it for them to oppose. They do not seem to understand that the law authorizes the government to take bold steps while informing the public of its actions.The law charges the government to take every possible measure ranging from psychological to more practical moves to continue the peace process in earnest. That should put Öcalan, and the PKK leadership holed up in the Iraqi mountains, at ease.The peace process passed the one year mark long ago and it was time to push it forward and introduce some momentum. It was up to the government to do this and we are happy that those responsible for running the country shared our concerns that we put forward in our June 5 article.