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
