Author: EutccAdmin

17th Int. Conference

EutccAdmin

17th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON “THE EUROPEAN UNION, TURKEY, THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE KURDS”

Brussels, European Parliament
Wednesday 8th March – 15.30 – 18.30
Thursday 9th of March – 09.30 – 18.30

PATRONS

ARCHBISHOP EMERITUS DESMOND TUTU
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, South Africa

SHIRIN EBADI
Human Rights Lawyer
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Iran

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

NOAM CHOMSKY
Institute Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

LEYLA ZANA
European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought,
Rafto Prize Laureate, Turkey

In cooperation with

IMPORTANT TECHNICAL INFORMATION
“HOW TO PARTICIPATE AND ENTER THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT”

An official “European Parliament personal badge/pass” will be available for all ALREADY REGISTERED participants to the Conference.

Your “personal badge / pass” will be available at the main entrance of the European Parliament (Place de Luxembourg – main European Parliament’s building “Altiero Spinelli”

  • Wednesday 8th of March, 13.30 – 15.00
  • Thursday 9th of March, 08.30 – 09.30

All participants must take care of their own “EP badge / pass” during both days; if someone lose the “pass / badge”, it will be impossible for the conference’s organizers to replace it, according to the E.P. internal rules.

For any additional information, please contact the conference’s secretariat:
brusselsconferenceep@gmail.com

Wednesday, 8 March 2023, 15.30-16.00
OPENING SESSION, Room SPAAK 05B01

Interpretation in
Kurdish, Turkish, French, English, German

Opening Speeches and Greetings

•Ms. Kariane Westrheim, Chair of EUTCC, University of Bergen, Norway

•Ms. Shirin Ebadi, Human Rights Lawyer, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Iran (video message)

•Mr. François Alfonsi, MEP, Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA), France

•Ms. Dersim Dagdeviren, Kurd-Akad, EUTCC Board Member, Germany

Wednesday, 8 March 2023, 16.00-17.30

Panel I – Room SPAAK 05B01

100 Years Republic of Turkey: Continuations, Contradictions and Change

Moderator: Ms. Amberin Zaman, Senior Correspondent, UK

Interpretation in
Kurdish, Turkish, French, English, German

100 Years of Turkish Republic and Treaty of Lausanne: Historical Continuations and Present Realities
•Mr. Baskın Oran, Historian, Turkey

Elections in Turkey: New Start versus Continuity
•Ms. Meral Danış Beştaş, HDP Group Deputy Chair, Turkey

A Country in Ruins: Earthquake, human rights and racism
•Ms. Rehsan Bataray, Human Rights Association Diyarbakir Branch, Turkey

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Wednesday, 8 March 2023, 17.30-18.30

Panel II – Room SPAAK 05B01

The Causa İmralı and European Institutions: Law, Obligations and Deficits

Moderator: Ms. Barbara Spinelli, ELDH Co-Chair, Italy

Interpretation in
Kurdish, Turkish, French, English, German

The Imprisonment Conditions of Abdullah Öcalan: From an Individual Case to Lawlessness of Whole Turkey
•Ms. Raziye Öztürk, Asrın Law Office, Turkey

Preventing Torture: Limits and Obligations
•Ms. Ann Jessica Therese Karlqvist, MP, Left Party, Sweden

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Thursday, 9 March 2023, 09.30-10.30

Panel III – Room SPAAK 05B01

The Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria: In the Crossfire of Interests

Moderator: Ms. Ezo Özer, Journalist, Germany

Interpretation in
Kurdish, Turkish, French, English, German

Interview with

•Ms. Ilham Ahmad, Co-Chair of the Executive Committee of Syrian Democratic Council, Syria

•Mr. Andreas Schieder, MEP, Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Austria

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Thursday, 9 March 2023, 10.30-13.00

Panel IV – Room SPAAK 05B01

Turkey, the Kurds and the Middle East: Continuations and Challenges

Moderator: Mr. Michael Gunter, Tennessee Technological University, EUTCC Secretary General, US

Interpretation in
Kurdish, Turkish, French, English, German

War crimes in Kurdistan: From Halabja to Today
•Mr. Salar Mahmoud, Head of Kurdistan Genocide Writers Union, Iraq

The Alleged Use of Chemical Weapons by Turkey: Questions and Options
•Mr. Jan van Aken, Biologist, Member of Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War`s (IPPNW) Scientific Advisory Board, Germany

Turkey´s New War: Drones and Deals
•Mr. Georges Henri Beauthier, Lawyer, Belgium

Turkey´s Crimes Against Humanity: Eocide, Feminicide, Genocide
•Ms. Bedia Özgökçe, former HDP MP and Mayor of Van, Turkey

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Thursday, 9 March 2023, 15.00-16:45

Panel VI – Room SPAAK 05B01

The EU and the Kurds: Expectations and Options

Moderator: Mr. Joost Jongerden, EUTCC Board Member, University of Wageningen, Netherlands

Interpretation in
Kurdish, Turkish, French, English, German

Kurdish Expectations of Europe
•Ms. Nilüfer Koc, Kurdistan National Congress Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, Belgium

De-Listing: Lifting Political Barriers
•Ms. Besra Güler, Association for Democracy and International Law (Maf-Dad), Germany

The December 23 Attack in Paris: Many Questions – Less Answers
•Ms. Berivan Firat, Democratic Council of Kurds in French Foreign Relations Committee, France

Europe and the Kurdish Question: Contradictions and Options
•Mr. Nikolaj Villumsen, MEP, Vice-Chair The Left, Denmark

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Thursday, 9 March 2023, 16:45-17.45

Panel VIII – Room SPAAK 05B01

Women Waving Future: Obstacles and Opportunities

Moderator: Ms. Nese Özgen, Antropologist, Germany

Interpretation in
Kurdish, Turkish, French, English, German

Jin – Jiyan – Azadî: A paradigm for freedom
•Ms. Maryam Fethi, East Kurdistan Free Women Society, Spain

Living International Solidarity – Creating Women Alliances
•Ms. Evin Incir, MEP, Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Member of The EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, Sweden

Building Bridges in Politics: United Against Patriarchy and Repression
•Ms. Ana Miranda, MEP, Greens/EFA, Spain

Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers

Thursday, 9 March 2023, 17.45-18.30

Closing Session – Room SPAAK 05B01

Conclusions, Recommendations and Final Resolution
Board of EUTCC

( Download Programme as PDF)

Commentaries #23

EutccAdmin

The Implications of Turkish Interventions in Rojava for US and EU Foreign Policies
by Dr. Veysi Dağ, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and SOAS

Executive summary: 

This essay focuses on the anti-intellectualism in Turkey in relation to the oppression, persecution, and discrediting of critical academics. It shows how this anti-intellectualism affects the reproduction and re-legitimation of war policies in regards to the Turkish-Kurdish conflict. To this end, first it presents excerpts from in-depth interviews with academics who were dismissed from universities by presidential decrees for This paper examines how Turkish invasions into Northern Syria’s Kurdish enclave undermine US and European policy objectives. It argues that the Turkish state, obsessed with Kurdish hostility, endangers American and European foreign policies by further destabilising war-torn Syria, facilitating the empowerment of Islamist extremist groups, impeding a peaceful resolution to Syria’s protracted conflict, and assisting Russia’s anti-Western interests. The paper suggests that the US and Europe could rather deploy a dual strategy aimed at exerting pressure on Turkey to discontinue its disruptive and belligerent actions. To cease targeting anti-ISIS Kurdish forces, Turkey must either resume the Kurdish-Turkish peace process or risk being designated as a rival state, analogous to Russia, and subjected to punitive sanctions.
https://journals.tplondon.com/com/article/view/2951

EU Turkey Civic Commission
www.eutcc.net
Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission

Commentaries #22

EutccAdmin

Anti-intellectualism and discrediting of critical academics in Turkey: an approach to the Turkish-Kurdish conflict
by Serhat Tutkal, Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Executive summary: 

This essay focuses on the anti-intellectualism in Turkey in relation to the oppression, persecution, and discrediting of critical academics. It shows how this anti-intellectualism affects the reproduction and re-legitimation of war policies in regards to the Turkish-Kurdish conflict. To this end, first it presents excerpts from in-depth interviews with academics who were dismissed from universities by presidential decrees for signing a peace petition criticizing the military operations and human rights violations in Kurdish-majority cities. Subsequently, it shows some Twitter entries from a larger dataset where critical academics are attacked to legitimize police violence in a university campus. It concludes with underlining the importance of re-legitimation of critical academics and intellectual work in Turkey if authoritarianism is to be overcome.
https://journals.tplondon.com/com/article/view/2856

EU Turkey Civic Commission
www.eutcc.net
Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission

Newsletter December 2022

EutccAdmin

Dear Sir or Madam,
Please find below our monthly newsletter.
Kind regards 


Prof. Kariane Westrheim 

Chairperson 

Happy New Year The New Year has started. For Turkey, the Kurds & the Middle East, the question is whether dictatorships and wars will dominate the year or whether the slogan Jin Jiyan Azadî will bring peace and freedom to the peoples. The EUTCC remains committed to the aspirations for democracy.
Statement on Paris Attack The EU Turkey Civic Commission condemns the attack in the strongest terms and demands a complete clarification which is also necessary for the Paris attack in 2013. Generating the narrative of a mentally ill, racist lone perpetrator is dangerous. The European Union, and France in particular, must take a clear stance against all acts of terrorism by Turkey on European soil.
http://eutcc.net/?p=1225

Bianet Male Violence Monitor December 2022 Report– 19 women killed – 65 women subjected to violence- 6 women raped- 16 women harassed
https://m.bianet.org/5/193/272358-men-killed-19-women-in-december

Human Rights Defenders Prison Report 2022According to the Penal Statistics Report published by the Council of Europe, Turkey is the only country in Europe with a prison population of more than 300,000 between 2011 and 2021, while the incarceration rate increased by 89.3%.
https://etkiniz.eu/blog/2021-hapishaneler-raporu/

Statement by HDP Foreign Affairs Spokespersons ⁦Feleknas Uca⁩ and ⁦Hişyar Özsoy on the HDP MP Semra Güzel’s dismissal from her parliamentary seat We will not get used to such sheer unlawfulness. Dr. Güzel continues her struggle for democracy, justice and freedom from within a prison cell.
https://hdpeurope.eu/2022/12/hdp-mp-semra-guzel-has-been-deprived-of-her-seat-in-the-turkish-parliament/

Our statement on the court ruling against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu The court ruling against Istanbul’s mayor İmamoğlu is unacceptable. It is a reflection of autocratic change that should be stopped immediately. In this context, it should be emphasised that dozens of mayors and deputies as well as thousands of members of the HDP are in prison. 

EUTCC Commentaries #21 Kurdistan under new qttacksby Terry Saltsmann and Prof. Michael Gunter
https://journals.tplondon.com/com/article/view/2934

EU Turkey Civic Commission
www.eutcc.net
Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission

Commentaries #21

EutccAdmin

Kurdistan under new qttacks
by Terry Saltsmann and Prof. Michael Gunter 

The Turkish November 19, 2022, attack on Rojava dubbed Operation Claw-Sword was reputedly launched in retaliation for the earlier November 13 bomb attack on Istanbul’s sleek shopping district known as Istiklal Street that killed six people and wounded at least 80 more. Although it made no sense for the Kurds to attack Istanbul and thus invite new Turkish wrath, Turkey quickly blamed the PKK and its kin Syrian Democratic Forces/Democratic Union Party/Peoples’ Defense Units (SDF/PYD/YPG) in Rojava for the atrocity despite their quick denial. On November 22, Turkey escalated these air strikes by hitting an SDF/PYD/YPG military base adjacent to the main US military base in northeastern Syria housing some of the approximately 900 remaining few but strategically important troops the United States still maintains in Syria. No U.S. casualties were reported.

However, a Pentagon spokesman declared that the Turkish airstrike had “directly threatened” U.S. troops stationed in the area. Thus, there is the danger of disastrous miscalculations that could lead to Turkish clashes with the United States. Although there is no credible evidence about who perpetrated the original bombing in Istanbul, one might speculate that some rogue Turkish intelligence element carried out a false flag operation to win support for Erdogan’s upcoming reelection scheduled for June 18, 2023. The PKK and SDF/PYD/YPG have accused Turkey of having used such attacks as a pretext for invasions in the past. General Mazloum Abdi (aka Mazlum Kobane), the SDF commander, claimed the reputed bomber, Ahlam Al-Bashir, was related to ISIS jihadists via her brothers and past husbands, some of whom were killed in battles against Kurdish forces. Also possible is a reputed rogue PKK element, such as the so-called Kurdistan Falcons/Hawks blamed in the past for similar violent atrocities. A jihadist group might also be responsible. Meanwhile, the midterm elections in the United States paradoxically both strengthened and weakened U.S. president Joseph Biden’s hand in all this.

EU Turkey Civic Commission
www.eutcc.net
Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission