THE KURDISH FACTOR IN WORLD POLITICS:CRISIS, CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS
Brussels, European Parliament
Wednesday 5th & Thursday 6th of December 2018
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
Organization GUE/NGL, The Greens, S&D and EUTCC In cooperation with Kurdish Institute of Brussel
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” – just after the sliding doors you’ll find a conference desk), during and only the following date / hours:
– Wednesday 5th of December, 08.00 – 09.00
– Thursday 6th December, 08.00 – 09.00
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: [email protected]
Wednesday, 5th of December 2018, 09.00-10.00
OPENING SESSION, Room ASP 3G2 (ASP Building)
Interpretation in Turkish, English, German, Kurdish (passive)
OPENING SPEECHES AND GREETINGS
•Ms. Kariane WESTRHEIM, Chair of EUTCC, University of Bergen, Norway
•Mr. Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS, Vice-President of the European Parliament, MEP of the European United Left – Nordic Green Left Group (GUE/NGL), Greece
•Mr. Josef WEIDENHOLZER, MEP, Vice-President of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament, Austria
•Ms. Ana MIRANDA, MEP, The Greens / European Free Alliance, Spain
•Ms. Margaret OWEN, OBE, human rights lawyer focusing on women´s and children´s rights; Director of Widows for Peace through Democracy (WPD)
Wednesday, 5th of December 2018, 10.00-12.30
Panel I, Room ASP 3G2 (ASP Building)
Interpretation in Turkish, English, German, Kurdish (passive)
TURKEY AS A STATE DEPRIVED OF THE RULE OF LAW
Moderator
Mr. Akın Birdal, Former Chair of Human Rights Association, Former MP, Turkey
Ms. Heike Geisweid, lawyer, MAF-DAD, Germany
THE CURRENT STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN TURKEY
•Ms. Gülseren Yoleri, Co-Chair of Human Rights Association Istanbul, Turkey
THE REALITY INSIDE TURKEY´S PRISONS AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE EMERGENCY LAW / THE IMRALI PRISON SYSTEM AS A PROTOTYPE OF THE OHAL PRISON SYSTEM
•Mr. Öztürk Türkdoğan, Co-chair of Human Rights Association, Turkey
ISOLATION IN IMRALI PRISON AS A METHOD OF TORTURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION AND ITS LEGAL BASIS
•Mr. Ibrahim Bilmez, Asrin Law Office, Turkey
THE INFLUENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS BODIES ON THE STRUGGLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND LEGAL RIGHTS IN TURKEY
•Mr. Thomas Schmidt, General Secretary ELDH, Germany
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE INTERNATIONAL POLITICS / HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES
•Mr. Gianni Tognoni, General Secretary Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal, Italy
QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION WITH MODERATORS & DISCUSSANTS
Wednesday, 5th of December 2018, 15.00-17.30
Panel II, Room PHS 04 B O1 (PHS Building )
Interpretation in Turkish,English, German, Kurdish (passive)
LIVING SOLIDARITY
Moderator
Ms. Sarah Glynn, artist and activist, Member of Scottish Solidarity with Kurdistan, UK
Mr. Ragip Duran, journalist, Germany
YOUR FREEDOM AND MINE: ABDULLAH ÖCALAN AND THE SOLUTION TO THE CRISIS
IN THE MIDDLE EAST
•Mr. Federico Venturini, independent researcher and activist, Member of Advisory Board of the Transnational Institute of Social Ecology, Italy
PLEASE TELL MY STORY
•Mr. Joe Ryan, Chair of Westminster Justice and Peace Commission, UK
THE INTERNATIONAL STRUGGLE FOR ÖCALANS FREEDOM: THE FREEDOM FOR ÖCALAN WORLD CAMPAIGN
•Ms. Clare Baker, UNITE the Union, UK
ON THE JUDGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN GENERAL COURT: POLTICAL AND LEGAL CONSEQUENCES
•Mr. Mahmut Şakar, lawyer, MAF-DAD , Germany
TOWARDS A NEW INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY
•Mr. Thomas Jeffrey Miley, Lecturer of political sociology at the University of Cambridge, UK
QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION WITH MODERATORS & DISCUSSANTS
Thursday, 6th of December 2018, 09.00-13.00
Panel III, Room ASP 1G2 (ASP Building)
Interpretation in Turkish, English, French, German, Italian, Dutch and other EU languages
THE MIDDLE EAST: REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS AND CONNOTATIONS
Moderator
Ms. Jean Lambert, MEP, UK
Ms. Gökay Akbulut, MP, Germany
TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY TOWARDS THE KURDS IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD
•Mr. Kinoshita Akinobu, Japan-Kurdish Friendship Group, Japan
THE KURDISH FACTOR IN MIDDLE EASTERN GEOPOLITICS
•Mr. Ahmet Yildirim, former MP, Peoples` Democratic Party, Turkey
THE ROLE OF REGIONAL POWERS IN THE CONFLICT
•Mr. Bill Park, Senior Lecturer in the department of defence studies at Kings College London, UK
NATO AND THE MIDDLE EAST: CRISIS VERSUS CONSOLIDATION
•Mr. Michael Gunter, EUTCC Secretary General, USA
THE KURDS AND THE MIDDLE EAST: FROM FACTOR OF INSTABILITY TO ACTOR OF STABILITY
•Mr. Zubeyir Aydar, Kurdistan National Congress (KNK), Belgium
QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION WITH MODERATORS & DISCUSSANTS
Thursday, 6th of December 2018, 14.30-16.30
Panel IV, Room ASP 1G2 (ASP Building)
Interpretation in Turkish, English, French, German, Italian, Dutch and other EU languages
THE MIDDLE EAST: PERSPECTIVES AND SOLUTIONS
Moderator
Ms. Deniz Yonucu, Social anthropologist, LMU Munich, Germany
Ms. Dersim Dağdeviren, EUTCC Board Member, Germany
THE DEMOCRATIC FEDERATION OF NORTH-SYRIA: AN OASIS OF DEMOCRACY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
•Mr. Michael Knapp, Historian, Berlin, Germany
YOUNG VOICES FROM MAXMUR: EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN A LIVING DEMOCRATIC AUTONOMY
•Ms. Kariane Westrheim, University of Bergen, Chair of EUTCC, Norway
BETWEEN EXTINCTION AND POLITICAL CO-DETERMINATION – THE ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST
•Mr. Simon Jacob, Central Council of Oriental Christians, Germany
ON THE RUINS OF KOBANE: INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE RECONSTRUCTION OF ROJAVA AND THE RECOGNITION OF THE DEMOCRATIC FEDERATION OF NORTHERN SYRIA
•Mr. Jonathan Spyer, Director of the Rubin Center, Israel
THE KURDISH QUESTION AND THE EUROPEAN UNION: DELISTING OF PKK FROM THE TERROR LIST
•Ms. Marie-Christine Vergiat, MEP, France
THE MIDDLE EAST: GLOBAL CHALLENGES NEEDS GLOBAL SOLUTIONS – THE NEED FOR AN INTERNATIONAL DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE
•Ms. Nilufer Koc, Co-Chair of KNK, Belgium
QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION WITH MODERATORS & DISCUSSANTS
Thursday, 6th of December 2018, 16.30-18.00
Panel V, Room ASP 1G2 (ASP Building)
Interpretation in Turkish, English, French, German, Italian, Dutch and other EU languages
PEACE POWER IN THE MIDDLE EAST: WOMEN
Moderators
Ms. Julie Ward, MEP, UK
Ms. Münevver Azizoglu-Bazan, University of Bremen, Germany
GENDER PERSPECTIVES FOR THE MIDDLE EAST
•Ms. Mechthild Exo, University of Emden/Leer, Germany
DEMOCRATIC AUTONOMY AND WOMEN’S LIBERATION IN ROJAVA
•Ms. Ilham Ehmed, Democratic Federation of Northern Syria
GAINING VOICE: KURDISH WOMEN’S STRUGGLE FOR RECOGNITION
•Ms. Marlene Schäfers, University of Ghent, Belgium
DEMOCRATIC CONFEDERALISM AND THE STRUGGLE AGAINST PATRIARCHY
•Ms. Döne Güzel, Kurdish Women’s Movement in Europe
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN´S STRUGGLE: CHALLENGES AND TASKS
•Ms. Eleonora Forenza, MEP, Italy
QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION WITH MODERATORS & DISCUSSANTS
Thursday, 6th of December 2018, 18.00-18.30
Panel VI, Room ASP 1G2 (ASP Building)
Interpretation in Turkish, English, French, German, Italian, Dutch and other EU languages
CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND FINAL RESOLUTION
EUTCC Board Members
Ms. Dersim DAGDEVIREN, KURD-AKAD, Germany
Mr. Michael GUNTER, Tennessee Technological University, USA
Ms. Kariane WESTRHEIM, University of Bergen, Norway
Ms. Estella SCHMID, Peace in Kurdistan (PIK), UK
Mr. Thomas MILEY, Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge, UK