Ankara - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's campaign tour in the east, which has taken him to Malatya, Şanlıurfa and Ağrı over the past few days, where Kurdish songs mixed with chants of support for the prime minister, reflects how far Turkey has come to redress the injustice Kurds have suffered. However, nationalist attacks on Kurds elsewhere in the country show how far it still needs to go.

The Gülen Movement's assault on Erdoğan continues to grip politics, but in the east, the public ignores the day-to-day political wrangling and hopes for further progress in the reconciliation process.

Attacks on pro-Kurdish parties and leaders in the north and the west of the country, along with Gülenist subversion of state institutions are seen by Kurds as an attempt by some nationalist groups to prevent reconciliation. They see in Erdoğan a leader who can deliver the long-awaited peace.