The European Union, Turkey and the Kurds

International Conference

Venue: European Parliament

Interpretation available in English, French, German, Dutch, Farsi, Turkish, Spanish, Kurmanci

12th International Conference in the European Parliament on the European Union, Turkey and the Kurds. High ranking patrons, experts and politicians on the old crisis and new solutions.

 

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

Vedat Turkali

Writer, Turkey

Leyla Zana

European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought,

Rafto Prize Laureate, Turkey


Programme

DAY I , 26 JANUARY 2016

ROOM ASP 1G2

OPENING SESSION 09.00 – 10.30

OPENING REMARKS AND GREETINGS

    •    Prof. Kariane WESTRHEIM, Chair of EUTCC, Professor, University of Bergen, Norway
•    Ms. Gabi ZIMMER, Chair of the European United Left – Nordic Green Left Group (GUE/NGL)

OPENING SPEECHES AND SPECIAL REMARKS BY

    •    Mr. Martin SCHULZ, President of the European Parliament (TBC)
•    Mr. José RAMOS-HORTA, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, former president East-Timor
•    Dr. Shirin EBADI, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Iran
•    Ms. Leyla ZANA, European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, Rafto Prize Laureate, Turkey

SESSION I. 10.30 – 13.00
TURKEY – FROM MODEL TO PROBLEM

Moderators
MEP, Marie-Christine VERGIAT, GUE/NGL & Mr. Ilkka UUSITALLO, Former Head of EEAS Middle East Division and former Ambassador and Head of EC Delegation to Iraq

The role of western powers – engaging constructively
•    Mr. Peter GALBRAITH, Former Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia, US

Turkey’s elections results and the impact for the region and the EU
•    Mr. Cengiz CANDAR, Journalist, Turkey

Contestation of strategies
•    Mr. Tarhan ERDEM, KONDA Research and Consultancy and Journalist. Turkey

The EU accession process: still a political lever?
•    Ms. Bodil VALERO, MEP, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance, Sweden (TBC)

For an effective and sustainable Kurdish peace process (Qualification of the ongoing War in Turkey-Kurdistan)
•    Prof. Susan BREAU, University of Reading, Expert on Legal Skills, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, International Humanitarian Law

Self-Governance and De-centralisation
•    Ms. Selma IRMAK, Co-President of DTK, Turkey

Questions and discussion with moderators & discussants

Day II, SESSION II, 27 JANUARY 2016, 09.00-12.00
Room WIB 6Q2

EXPLORING NEW POLITICS AND REGIONAL SOLUTIONS

Moderators
Ms. Amberin ZAMAN, Journalist, Turkey & Ms. Berivan ASLAN, MP, Austria

Beyond resistance – building the future
•    Prof.  Joost Jongerden, Wageningen University, the Netherlands

Pre- and Post Kobane and the way for stability
•    Mr. Salih MUSLIM, Co-President of PYD, Kurdistan-Syria

What role for the US, EU and Russia?
•    Mr. Michael WERZ, Center for American Progress, US

The Kurdish Diaspora as a political force
•    Dr. Bahar BASER, Research Fellow, Coventry University, UK

The search for a new political settlement
•    Mr. Selahattin DEMIRTAS, Co-President of HDP

The EU Role for a possible Peace Process (removing an obstacle to the peace process)
•    Mr. Josef WEIDENHOLZER, Vice-President of the S/D Group in EP, MEP Austria

Questions and discussion with moderators & discussants

SESSION III, 27 JANUARY 2016, 15.30 – 17.30
ROOM ASP 1G2

AGENDA FOR CHANGE: EXPECTATIONS AND ALTERNATIVES

Moderators
Ms. Nurcan BAYSAL, Writer, Turkey & Dr. Thomas SCHMIDINGER, University of Vienna, Austria

Shifting ground – the new strategies and tactics
•    Lord Hylton, House of Lords, United Kingdom

The leading role of women in civil society and politics
•    Ms. Yüksel GENC, Turkey

The prosecution of legitimate freedom of expression
•    Prof. David ROMANO, Middle East Politics, Missouri State University, Department of Political Science, US

Turkish Media and Kurdish Problem
•    Mr. Ragip DURAN, Journalist, Turkey

What’s new in the crisis?
•    Mr. Rainer HERMANN, Journalist, Germany

Agenda for change: expectations and alternatives
•    Mr. Rewar Resid, co-president of KNK (Kurdistan National Congress)

Questions and discussion with moderators & discussants

DAY II, 27 JANUARY 2016, ROOM, 17.30 -18.30

CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND FINAL RESOLUTION

BY EUTCC BOARD MEMBERS

Dr. Dersim DAGDEVIRAN, KURD-AKAD, Germany
Prof. Joost JONGERDEN, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
Prof. Michael GUNTER, Tennessee Technological University, US
Prof. Kariane WESTRHEIM, University of Bergen, Norway

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