PROGRAM : 9th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON “THE EU, TURKEY AND THE KURDS”

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

European Parliament, Brussels 5th & 6th December, 2012 – room ASP 1 G2 / Interpretation available in Turkish, English, French, German, Dutch, Danish  

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

Wednesday, 5th December 2012, 15.00-16.30 – Opening Session, Room ASP 1 G2 –

Opening Remarks and Greetings

•          Ms. Kariane Westrheim, PhD,

Chair of EUTCC, Associate Professor at the UoB, Norway

•          Mr. José Manuel Ramos-Horta,

Nobel Peace Prize Lecture, East-Timor

 

Opening Speech:

•          Mr. Bob Filner

Member of the U.S. Congress (TBC)

•          Hélène Flautre

Member of the European Parliament, France (TBC)

Video messages of Conference’s Patrons

•          Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, South Africa (TBC)

 

 Wednesday, 5th December 2012, 16.30-18.30

Panel I, Room ASP 1 G2

The Turkish-Kurdish Conflict – where is it going?

Moderators:

Mr. Jürgen Klute, Confederal Group of the European United Left – Nordic Green Left, MEP /Ms.

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

Press Freedom, Media Censorship and the Kurdish question 

•          Mr. Ahmet Şık, Journalist, Turkey (TBC)

The New Constitution – what Democratic Legitimacy? What’s missing?

•          Prof. Sevtap Yokuş, Kocaeli University, Turkey (TBC)

 

The impact of the Turkish/US/EU legislation on the Kurdish conflict

•          Mr. …., Lawyer, Country (TBC)

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 the Women Question in Turkey    

•          Ms. Fadile Yıldırım, Journalist, Women Rights Activist, France

 

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:

Ms….. MEP /Mr. Hans Branscheidt, EUTCC, Germany

Speakers

Rethinking politics and democracy in the Middle-East

•          Joost Jongerden, PhD, Wageningen UR – Netherlands

The achievement of Kurdish autonomy in Syria and its regional ramifications

•          Mr. Saleh Muslum, Member of Kurdish high commission and co-chairperson of PYD, Syria  

Who will determine what “System” for the Middle East?

•          Mr. Serdar Akinan, Journalist, Turkey (TBC)

The Upheavals in the Region and their Impact on the Kurds

•          Ms. Ofra Bengio, Senior Research Fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern, Israel

Turkey’s role in the Arab Spring and it regional and international policies: present scenarios                               

•          Mr. Hasan Cemal, Journalist, Turkey (TBC)

What role could The Kurdish “Democratic autonomy” project play?

•          Ms. Aysel Tuğluk, Co-Chair of Democratic Society Congress (DTK), 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:

Ms…….MEP /Mr. Essa Mossa, EUTCC, South-Africa

 

Speakers:

•          Mr./Ms……., KNK-Representative, Country

•          Mr. Jonathan Powell, British diplomat; former Downing Street Chief of Staff, United Kingdom

•          Representative of German Institution for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Germany (TBC)

•          Representative of TÜSİAD, Turkey

•          Mr. Hugh Pope, International Crisis Group, Belgium (TBC)

•          Mr. Selehattin Demirtas, Co-Chair of BDP, Turkey 

•          Ms. Ezgi Başaran, Journalist-Turkey

•          Mr. Galip Ensarioğlu AKP MP for Diyarbakır, Turkey (TBC)

•          Mr. Rıza Türmen CHP MP for İzmir, Turkey (TBC)

•          MEP

 

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

Final Remarks by the Board of the EUTCC