MESOP RECOMMENDATION : Public Forum ‘Kurdish Question under European Union Law’

Event to be held at the following time, date and location: Monday, 21 September 2015 from 18:30 to 20:30 (GMT), London

Diskus Room, Unite the Union (128 Theobalds Road, Holborn, London, WC1X 8TN) – The Centre for Kurdish Progress in partnership with the Centre for Turkey Studies cordially invites you to the public forum ‘Kurdish Cause under European Union Law’ with Barrister Professor Bill Bowring of Human Rights Centre, University of Essex and Mr Atilla Balikci of the Centre for Criminal Law and Criminology within Paris Nanterre University.

In this public forum, speakers will examine the Kurdish issue from a legal perspective. According to Mr Balikci, typically, two trends monopolise attention in current debates about the Kurdish question. The first is that the Kurdish question is bounded geographically as it is considered to be either a “Turkish problem” or a regional deadlock. This approach is too restrictive, if not erroneous, because the Kurds have been dispersed across Europe since the early 1960s. Currently, an estimated around two million Kurds live within the boundaries of Germany, Benelux, France, Switzerland, Austria and the United Kingdom. The second is that many analysts think of the Kurdish question within the framework of political science or geopolitics. Again, such approach is rather incomplete.

How do the Kurds perceive bans on their associations at the grassroots level? Has repression been a factor hindering their integration in Europe? How do the Kurds mobilise to overcome criminalisation? How is the Kurdish problem treated in diverse European legal contexts in which large numbers of Kurds reside? The speakers will address these questions in this public forum.

This event will take place on21 September 2015, between 6.30 and 8.30pm, in Diskus Room of Unite House (128 Theobalds Road, Holborn, London, WC1X 8TN).

We look forward to welcoming you to this joint public forum.

The Centre for Kurdish Progress

Speaker Biographies

Professor Bill Bowring teaches human rights and international law. His first degree was in Philosophy, from the University of Kent. He has been at Birkbeck since 2006. He previously taught at University of East London, Essex University and London Metropolitan University. As a practising barrister, he has represented applicants before the European Court of Human Rights in many cases since 1992. Bill has over 90 publications on topics of international law, human rights, minority rights, Russian law and philosophy, all from a Marxist perspective. His latest book is Law, Rights and Ideology in Russia: Landmarks in the Destiny of a Great Power (Routledge 2013).

Mr Atilla Balikci holds a BA in Private Law and an MA in Private Law and Criminal Sciences from Paris Ouest La Defense Nanterre University. Mr Balikci’s research interests include subjects of ‘terrorism’ and ‘fight against terrorism’ in relation to ‘national liberation movements’. He is currently a researcher in the Centre for Criminal Law and Criminology within Paris Nanterre University where he pursues a PhD project of his own on the ‘criminalisation of social movements’. Besides, Mr Balikci has successfully passed his bar exam and is now in the process of admission to the Bar of Paris, expected in September 2015.

Kind regards,Kurdish Progress http://kurdishprogress.org/