The European Union, Turkey and the Kurds

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