In any case, the AKP didn't come to power in Turkey until late 2002 - so how could they have introduced reforms that were rolled back in the "late 1990s"?
Yes, you are right, I am confusing a few trends here. The reforms passed under Ecevit's DSP.

Nonetheless I do stand behind the idea that it is the military who are the drivers of anti-Kurdish sentiment in Turkey. Historically it has always been the Islamic-based party, whether Welfare or AKP, who have reached out to Turkey's unassimilated Kurds, though Erdogan appears to be throwing them under the bus here.