Turkey has once again launched a new air offensive against the Democratic Autonomous Administration of the northern and eastern regions of Syria, a place where different ethnic and religious communities live together peacefully and equally. The focus is once again on civilian habitats and critical infrastructure.
These attacks, which violate international law, are taking place without any opposition from the international community, in particular the European Union. This impunity for war crimes is unacceptable.
There is an urgent need for condemnation of Turkey, appropriate sanctions and a swift initiative for dialogue with the aim of a political solution to the Kurdish question and lasting peace in the Middle East. Christmas in particular is both an occasion and an appeal for this.
EU Turkey Civic Commission www.eutcc.net Twitter: @EUTCC1 Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission
The Annual International Conference on the EU, Turkey, the Middle East and the Kurds was hosted by the EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) in cooperation with the The Left Group, the Greens-European Free Alliance (GREENS/EFA), the Groups of the Free Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and the Kurdish Institute Brussels. The conference was successfully held on 6th and 7th of December 2023 in the European Parliament in Brussels.
The Turkish Republic, which celebrate its 100th founding anniversary in 2023, has confirmed and even intensified its militaristic and anti-democratic course with the parliamentary and presidential elections. As in the past, Kurds and the Kurdish regions are particularly affected by this. Waves of arrests against Kurdish politicians are not abating. For the local elections next year, it is to be feared that Ankara will once again appoint forced administrators in the Kurdish regions.
The solitary confinement of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan continues unabated. For three years, his lawyers and family have been denied any visits to the prison island, contrary to all legal requirements, both Turkish and international (UN and ECtHR resolutions).
The rise in gender-based violence since the AKP / Erdoğan came to power has reached a peak with the country’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention.
The expansionist foreign policy by the Turkish state is increasing daily which cause crimes against humanity and violates international law. Since the beginning of October, there has been an increase in airstrikes on northern Syria, destroying a significant part of the infrastructure. Drone attacks, both in northern Syria and in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, are killing civilians on an almost daily basis. These attacks, and in particular the ongoing active support for fundamentalist, Islamist groups, are threatening peace and deepening instability in the Middle East and changing the demography.
Against the backdrop of all these developments, a political solution to the Kurdish question, a central issue in Turkey and the Middle East, is not in sight.
The EUTCC Conference therefore demands
the European Union to act in accordance with the demands of the European Parliament’s report on Turkey, also against the background of the responsibility arising from the Treaty of Lausanne.
the CPT to immediately publish the report on the last visit to the island in September 2022. The CPT is urgently asked to put pressure on Turkey to act and to secure the lifting of the isolation, which is against its commitments.
the Council of Europe to take all measures resulting from the disregard of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights which Turkey is refusing to flow.
the immediate lifting of the incommunicado detention of Abdullah Öcalan, his release according to the ´Right of Hope` legislation. Here we refer to the worldwide campaign launched in October for his freedom and a political solution to the Kurdish question, which deserves international resonance so that democracy and peace in Turkey and the Middle East have a chance.
The EUTCC Conference
Welcomes the decision of the European Parliament to award the Sakharov Peace Prize to the Kurdish woman Jina Amini as a symbol of the maxim Jin, Jiyan, Azadi post hum and declares its solidarity with the Kurdish women’s resistance.
The EUTCC is pleased to announce the programme of its 18th International Conference on EU, Turkey and the Kurds on 6-7 December 2023 in the European Parliament.
18th EUTCC Conference
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 6th December 2023, 15.00 – 16.00
Thursday 7th December 2023, 08.00 – 08.45
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, 6th December 2023, 16.30-17.00 OPENING SESSION, Room SPAAK 04B01
Interpretation in English and Turkish (with possibility to speak in German, French and Kurdish)
Opening Speeches and Greetings
•Ms. Kariane Westrheim, Chair of EUTCC, University of Bergen, Norway
•Mr. Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament, The Left, Greece
•Mr. Andreas Schieder, MEP, Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Austria
Wednesday, 6th December 2023, 17.00-20:00 Panel I – Room SPAAK 04B01
Post-election Turkey
Moderator: Ms. Ayça Çubukçu, London School of Economics and Politics, UK
Interpretation in English and Turkish (with possibility to speak in German, French and Kurdish)
Introduction: How & Why Erdogan Won in the May 2023 Elections •Mr. Michael Gunter, EUTCC Secretary General, Tennessee Technological University, US
Turkey Has Voted: Quo vadis? •Mr. Irfan Aktan, journalist, Turkey
Turkey After The Elections: Democracy (Im)possible •Ms. Çiğdem Kilicgün Uçar, MP, former Co-Chair of the Party of Greens and the Left (YSP)
The (Lack of) Opposition in Turkey •Ms. Aslı Erdoğan, writer, Germany
Turkey and the European Union: A Critical Approach •Ms. Ana Miranda, MEP, The Greens/EFA, Spain tbc
Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers
Thursday, 7th December 2023, 09.00-10.15
Panel II – Room SPINELLI 1G2
100 Years of the Treaty of Lausanne: Claim and Reality of a ‘Peace’
Moderator: Ms. Nil Mutluer, University of Leipzig, Germany
Interpretation in English, Turkish, French, Spanish, German (with possibility to speak in Kurdish)
The Treaty of Lausanne: History and Political Continuities •Mr. Hans-Lukas Kieser University of Zurich, Switzerland
Reassessing the Republican Practices and the Kurdish Alter-Politics •Mr. Jan Yasin Sunca, Bielefeld University, Germany
Europe and the Kurdish Question: Historical Responsibility and Expectations •Mr. Amed Dicle, journalist, Belgium
The European Union and Turkey: At the Crossroads? •Mr. Brando Benifei, MEP, Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Italy
Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers
Thursday, 7th December 2023, 10.15-11.45
Panel IV – Room SPINELLI 1G2
Transition Period in World Politics
Moderator: Ms. Eda Bektas, KURD-AKAD, Germany
Interpretation in English, Turkish, French, Spanish, German (with possibility to speak in Kurdish)
Ecocide and Climate Change – Local Responses to Multi-layered Crises in North East Syria •Ms. Şermin Güven, Free University Berlin, Germany
The New World Order: Contradictions and Truths •Ms. Nursel Aydogan, former HDP MP, Germany
Sweden, the NATO and the Kurds: Challenges and Options •Ms. Lindsey Snell, journalist, US
The Middle East between Status Quo and Democratic Transition: Obstacles and Perspectives •Ms. Asya Abdullah, PYD Co-Chair, Syria
Europe and the New World Order: Positions and Perspectives •Mr. Nikolaj Villumsen, MEP, The Left, Denmark
Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers
Thursday, 7th December 2023, 11.45-13.00 Panel IV – Room SPINELLI 1G2
Lasting Peace: Raising Voices
Moderator: Ms. Kariane Westrheim, EUTCC Chairperson, University of Bergen, Norway
Interpretation in English, Turkish, French, Spanish, German (with possibility to speak in Kurdish)
Beyond the Island: The Systematics of Isolation •Ms. Raziye Öztürk, Asrın Law Office, Turkey
The Conditions on the İmralı Prison Island in the Context of Health •Ms. Dersim Dağdeviren, KURD-AKAD, EUTCC Board Member, Germany
The Causa İmralı: Open the Gates •Ms. Laura Quagliuolo, Author of children’s books, Italy •Ms. Zülfünaz Coskun, Kurdish Women’s Movement in Europe, Belgium
Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers
Thursday, 7th December 2023, 15.00-16:30
Panel VI – Room SPINELLI 1G2
Living Freedom – Women’s Perspectives
Moderator: Ms. Shilan Fuad Hussain, Middlesex University London, UK
Interpretation in English, Turkish, French, Spanish, German (with possibility to speak in Kurdish)
Feminist Foreign Policy: Contradictions and Options •Ms. Dastan Jasim, German Institute for Global Area Studies, Germany
Women’s Revolution and the Middle East •Ms. Soheila Shahriari, University of Paris, France
Jin, Jiyan, Azadî: A Call to World Democratic Women’s Confederalism •Ms. Elif Kaya, Jineoloji Center Brussels, Belgium
Women & Politics: United Against War •Ms. Özlem Alev Demirel, MEP, The Left, Germany
Questions and Discussion with Moderators and Speakers
Thursday, 7th December 2023, 16:30-17:30
Panel III – Room SPINELLI 1G2
The European Union and Turkey: Cooperation and Contradictions
Moderator: Mr. Naif Bezwan, University of Vienna, Austria
Interpretation in English, Turkish, French, Spanish, German (with possibility to speak in Kurdish)
Please find below and attached our statement regarding Turkey’s war on Northern Syria.
Kind regards
Prof. Kariane Westrheim
EUTCC Chairperson
…
Stop Turkey’s war on Northern Syria
Turkey has been bombing northern Syria since October 4, 2023. Civilians and critical infrastructure are targeted in the attacks. The day before, the Turkish Foreign Minister and former head of intelligence Hakan Fidan openly announced these attacks.
While the international community rightly speaks of crimes against humanity and international law in relation to Russia’s war against Ukraine, condoning silence prevails in relation to NATO member Turkey.
This double standard is intolerable. International law and human rights are universal.
The international community and all international organizations, first and foremost the United Nations, the European Union, and the Council of Europe, are called upon to react immediately. These crimes against humanity must be internationally outlawed and met with sanctions.
EU Turkey Civic Commission www.eutcc.net Twitter: @EUTCC1 Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission
Chronology of the PKK: From group formation to party (1973–1980)
By Prof. Joost Jongerden, University of Wageningen
Executive summary:
The Kurdistan Workers Party (Partîya Karkêren Kurdistan, PKK) is often considered a latecomer that miraculously survived the 1980 military coup. Yet the establishment of the party in 1978 was preceded by a long process of group formation that started shortly after the 1971 military coup in Turkey. This article presents a chronology of the PKK during the 1970s.
EU Turkey Civic Commission www.eutcc.net Twitter: @EUTCC1 Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission
