The International Conference on “Political Prisoners in Turkey: Where goes the Path of Freedom and Peace”, discussed the issue of Kurdish political prisoners and especially the issue of not hearing from Mr. Abdullah Öcalan for 3 years, as well as the political solution to the Kurdish question. Distinguished academics, union representatives, political parties, human rights defenders, lawyers, municipal council members and parliamentarians who attended our conference clearly stated that the torture and illegal situation that Kurdish political prisoners and Mr. Öcalan are subjected to is unacceptable.
All these personalities and representatives of institutions stated their support to the campaign ‘Freedom for Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question’ campaign launched on October 10, 2023.
The participants are increasingly concerned about Mr. Öcalan’s security and well-being. Isolation is internationally recognized as a form of torture. For this form of torture to go on for three years is extremely dangerous. Mr Öcalan is being held in solitary confinement with massive effects on physical and mental health. We do not know anything about Mr Öcalan’s condition beyond the fact that he has recently received‘disciplinary measures’ to block meetings on false pretenses and has allegedly been sent death threats.
The conference also discussed further steps and reached the following decisions:
The isolation on Mr. Öcalan must be lifted immediately and the European Council must intervene to allow him to meet with his family and lawyers.
Kurdish leader Mr. Abdullah Öcalan must be allowed to meet with his lawyers and family and, ultimately, freed under conditions that allow him to play a role in finding a just and democratic political solution to Turkey’s decades-old Kurdish conflict.
In light of the seriousness of the recent threats to Mr. Öcalan’s life, we call on the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the EU and the UN to organize an urgent ad hoc mission to visit Abdullah Öcalan.
Initiating more efforts to make the alarming situation known to the public in the international and local press.
İn order to draw attention to the situation of the political prisoners, the unions consider a general strike for 1 minute at an appropriate time.
Initiation of initiatives to put the issue on the agenda of all national parliaments, especially in the EU and the CoE.
Suspension of all aid to the Turkish government, which violates its own domestic and international law.
Legal and institutional recognition of the Kurdish nation and the right to self-determination.
The EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) would like to draw attention to the issue of political prisoners inside of Turkey in general and the situation of the imprisoned Kurdish leader Mr. Abdullah Öcalan in particular. To place the corresponding gross violations of international laws and humanitarian norms on the global agenda, we are holding a special event, a mini conference inside the European Parliament on February 16th, 2024, 2 – 6 pm, which is hosted by MEP Guliano Pisapia (S&D).
We have invited eminent academics, intellectuals, and human rights activists in the hope that their dialogue will help foster more awareness and possible solutions to alleviate this growing humanitarian crisis and bring a peaceful solution to the ‘Kurdish question’.
— 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)
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 8th and 9th of March 2023 in the European Parliament in Brussels.
At the beginning of February, a devastating earthquake shook Turkey, Kurdistan and Syria. Entire cities lay in ruins, tens of thousands of people lost their lives. The violent extent is not only the result of plate tectonics, but the result of greed for profit paired with the monistic state policy.
The EUTCC conference commemorates the victims of the earthquake. Turkey is called upon to immediately stop its attacks on northern Syria and to lift blockade on humanitarian aid by volunteers. The military inaction called by the PKK due to the earthquake must become bilateral.
The military inaction, but also the rubble of the earthquake, are not only the result, but also an opportunity for 100 years of the Republic of Turkey to overcome the monist state mindset and become a democratic republic.
In this context, the upcoming elections are a historic option that should be used by the opposition.
The EUTCC conference calls on the opposition to unite for democracy and peace and to act together against the attempt to ban of the Peoples` Democratic Party (HDP). The international community, and in particular the European Union and the Council of Europe, must send clear signals that they will not accept a ban on the second largest opposition party under any circumstances.
A historical and long overdue necessity is the opening of the gates of Imrali prison, which as a lawless space is the starting point for the most massive human rights violations in Turkey’s prisons. The European Union, the Council of Europe and in particular the CPT are called upon to exhaust all
mechanisms to end the lawlessness on Imrali and to allow lawyers unrestricted access to the island. The EUTCC Conference calls for a return to dialogue between the Turkish state and the PKK and the release of Abdullah Öcalan as a precondition for a sustainable solution.
This dialogue is also crucial for the future of Syria and the Middle East. The Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria, whose social contract is based on the concept of democratic autonomy, is a possibility for a pluralistic democratic Middle East. In this way, the ethically and confessionally connoted lines of conflict, together with the war crimes – ecocide, genocide, feminicide, violation of international law – can bestopped and overcome. An important step will be the recognition of the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria by the
international community. In this context, the EUTCC conference refers to the obligation of states to repatriate their imprisoned ISIS fighters and putting them on trial. A tribunal is also needed on the ground.
The destabilising foreign policy effect of the current Turkish government policy also prevents the development of stability and security in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The assassination of Kurdish politicians, especially women, by Turkish drones in both Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria must be brought to justice.
Since many states have politically recognised the attacks against Yezidis in Sinjar as genocide, all diplomatic and political mechanisms of the EU must be set in motion to prevent further attacks by Turkish drones against Yezidis. In any case, the Yezidis are suffering from the consequences of the 2014 genocide.
The EUTCC Conference calls on the United Nations, the OPCW and the International Criminal Court to address Turkey's war crimes and to launch independent investigations. The member states of the OPCW must use the options set out in its regulations to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons by its member state Turkey. The international community, in particular the European Union, is called upon to fully defend international law in the context of Turkey and to impose sanctions for violations.
The European Union and Europe are responsible in the context of the Treaty of Lausanne, which was signed 100 years ago. The EUTCC conference calls on the European Union and the institutions and states of Europe to take all measures to prevent anti-Kurdish warfare on European soil. The Paris assassinations of 23 December 2022 must be solved. An important contribution of the European Union with regard to Kurdish society in Europe, but above all for a political solution of the Kurdish question, is the removal of the PKK from the terror list.
All these demands are also in the context of Jin Jiyan Azadi, the slogan that is going around the world with the Iran protests.
The EUTCC conference stands in solidarity with the people of Iran who have revolt against the murderous regime. There can only be an alternative if the diversity of the country can fully participate in political restructuring processes.
The EUTCC calls on the international community to make the slogan the maxim of its policy in its origin.
