Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government wants to give more rights and opportunities to Kurds who have complained about abuses and discrimination for decades. Political opponents accuse him of making too many concessions to Kurdish rebels and threatening Turkey's unity.

Interior Minister Besir Atalay told parliament the plan includes removing all restrictions on the use of the once-banned Kurdish language, creating a committee to fight discrimination, restoring former Kurdish names of villages and establishing an independent body to deal with complaints against the security forces.

Atalay said Kurdish politicians would be allowed to speak their language during electoral campaigns _ a dramatic reversal of a policy that put pro-Kurdish politicians on trial for speaking Kurdish in public settings.

"It is an open-ended, dynamic process," Atalay said, adding that the measures would not be restricted to those he cited.

"We aim to expand all our citizens' political rights and freedoms," he said. "The democratic overture does not intend to harm our unitary state and national unity, but to strengthen it."

Atalay stressed the need to replace the constitution, a legacy of the 1980-1983 military rule, urging all political parties to support the preparation of "a new, pluralist and free constitution."

Opposition lawmakers, who had disrupted Atalay's speech on the Kurdish issue in parliament earlier this week, listened in silence this time.

Erdogan was also expected to speak in Friday's session.

Last month, authorities released a small band of Kurdish rebels who had surrendered in a peace gesture. Scenes of Kurdish celebrations of the surrender angered hardline nationalists.