9th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON “THE EUROPEAN UNION, TURKEY AND THE KURDS”

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9th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
“THE EUROPEAN UNION, TURKEY AND THE KURDS”

THE KURDISH QUESTION IN TURKEY: TIME TO RENEW THE DIALOGUE  AND RESUME DIRECT NEGOTIATIONS

Brussels, European Parliament, 5th & 6th of December 2012 Room ASP 1 G2
Interpretation available in
Turkish, English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish

Patrons
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, South Africa

Dr. Shirin Ebadi
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Iran

Bianca Jagger
Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador
Chair of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, UK

Professor Noam Chomsky
Writer, USA

Yasar Kemal
Writer, Turkey

Vedat Turkali
Writer, Turkey

Leyla Zana
European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought,
Rafto Prize Laureate, Turkey

Opening Remarks and Greetings
• Ms. Kariane Westrheim, PhD,
Chair of EUTCC, Associate Professor, University of Bergen, Norway
• MEP Ms. Gabi Zimmer
President of the European United Left – Nordic Green Left Group (GUE/NGL) in the European Parliament, Germany

Opening Speech:
• MP Ms. Leyla Zana
Member of the Turkish Parliament, European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, Rafto Prize Laureate, Turkey
• MEP Ms. Hélène Flautre
Co-president of the Joint Parliamentary Committee EU-Turkey,
Greens-EFA Group, France

Video messages of Conference’s Patrons
• Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, South Africa

Wednesday, 5th December 2012, 16.30-18.30
Panel I, Room ASP 1 G2

The Turkish-Kurdish Conflict – where is it going?
Moderators:

MEP Mr. Jürgen Klute, Coordinator of the EP-Kurds Friendship Group,
GUE/NGL Group, Germany
Ms. Margaret Owen OBE, International human rights lawyer,
Member of the Bar Human Rights Committee, UK

Speakers
The EU and Turkish Accession: The Rule of Law and the Limits of Judicial Reform
• Mr. Walter Schwimmer, Former Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Austria
• MEP Mr. Claude Moraes, Socialists & Democrats Group, UK
• MEP Ms. Ana Miranda, Greens-EFA Group, Galicia

Press Freedom, Media Censorship and the Kurdish question
• Mr. Ahmet Şık, Journalist, Turkey

The New Constitution – what Democratic Legitimacy? What’s missing?
• Professor Sevtap Yokuş, Kocaeli University, Turkey

The impact of the Turkish/US/EU legislation on the Kurdish conflict
• Ms. Meral Danış Beştaş, Lawyer, Turkey

Democracy Deferred – the Continuing Challenges: Political Trials, Identity and Human Rights
• Mr. Raci Bilici, Chair of the Human Rights Association Diyarbakır Office, Turkey

The Roboski Massacre – Unanswered Questions
• Mr. Ferhat Encü, Victim, Turkey

The Importance of Women & Gender Issues in Turkey
• Ms. Özgür Sevgi Göral, Academic, Turkey

Questions and discussion with moderators & discussants

Thursday, 6 December 2012, 09.30-13.00
Panel II, Room ASP 1 G2
Middle East at the cross-roads: Whose regional order?

Moderators:

Mr. Hans Branscheidt, EUTCC, Germany
MEP Mr. Søndergaard Søren Bo, GUE/NGL Group, Denmark

Speakers

The achievement of Kurdish democratic autonomy in Syria and its regional ramifications
• Mr. Saleh Muslim, Co-President of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and Deputy General Coordinator of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria (NCB)

Turkey’s role in the Arab Spring and it regional and international policies: present scenarios
• Mr. Cengiz Çandar, Journalist, Turkey
Rethinking politics and democracy in the Middle-East
• Mr. Joost Jongerden, PhD, Wageningen UR, Netherlands

Who will determine what “System” for the Middle East?
• Mr. Serdar Akinan, Journalist, Turkey

The Upheavals in the Region and their Impact on the Kurds
• Professor Ofra Bengio, Senior Research Fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern, Israel

What role could the Kurdish “democratic autonomy” project play?
• Ms. Aysel Tuğluk, Co-Chair of Democratic Society Congress (DTK), MP for Van, Turkey

Questions and discussion with moderators & discussants

Thursday, 6 December 2012 15.00-18.00
Panel III, Room ASP 1G2
Negotiating peace: Requirements for a political resolution and the Road Maps to Peace in Turkey

Moderators:

MEP Ms. Marie-Christine Vergiat, GUE/NGL, France
Judge Essa Moosa, EUTCC, South-Africa

Speakers:

• MP Mr. Selehattin Demirtas, Co-Chair of BDP, BDP MP for Hakkari, Turkey
• MP Mr. Galip Ensarioğlu, AKP MP for Diyarbakir, Turkey
• MP Mr. Salih Firat, CHP MP for Adıyaman, Turkey
• Ms. Sabine Freizer, International Crisis Group
• Mr. Osman Kavala, Civil Society Activist, Turkey
• Ms. Nuray Mert, Academician and journalist, Turkey
• Mr. Zübeyir Aydar, Member of the Executive Board of KNK

Questions and discussion with moderators & discussants

Thursday, 6 December 2012, 18.00-18.30
Panel IV, Room ASP 1G2
Conclusions and Recommendations

Moderator

Professor Michael Gunter, EUTCC, United States

Final Remarks by the Board of the EUTCC

An official “European Parliament personal badge / pass” will be provided to all participants to the Conference.

All participants MUST communicate to [email protected] the following information:

1) Name and surname
2) Date of birth
3) Place and country of residence (if possible, the full address of residence)
4) Number of a valid document (ex: passport, national ID, etc…)

This information must be sent to the above-mentioned mail before the 1st of December 2012 at 15h00.

Please note that NO ACCREDITATION will be accepted after this deadline, according to the rules established by the Security Department of the European Parliament.

Your “personal badge / pass” will be ready and delivered to you starting from 5th of December 2012 at 13h30. It will be available at the main entrance of the European Parliament (Place de Luxembourg – main European Parliament building “Altiero Spinelli” – just after the sliding doors you’ll find a conference desk).

For information: Stefano Squarcina + 32 475 864757 [email protected]
Press contact: Gianfranco Battistini + 32 475 646628 [email protected]