7-8 December 2012
Place: City Hotel Ankara
Turan Güneş Bulvarı No: 19 Yıldız-Çankaya- Ankara
We are going through a period in which the feeling of detachment in the Kurdish and Turkish public opinions has become more evident and politics suffer a serious bottleneck in the solution of the Kurdish issue. Despite the numerous meetings, studies and discussions on the subject, no distance has been covered when it comes to finding solutions for the problems.
We, as Diyarbakir Institute for Political and Social Research and Heinrich Boell Stiftung Foundation, thought it is necessary to organize such a meeting, in such a critically important period, to cover the Kurdish issue in its different aspects and to benefit from international experiences. Differences of perception and the feeling of detachment in the Kurdish and Turkish public opinions, roles and responsibilities of the actors, especially the politicians involved in the settlement process, conditions of settlement, termination of the conflicts, methods for negotiation and dialogue and, the role of the media in the settlement process are among the subjects to be elaborated on in the conference.
Everyday Life – Perceptions – Feelings of Detachment
The sensitivities of the Turkish community are often given as an excuse by politicians for not fulfilling the main demands in the Kurdish issue in line with international standards. The sensitivities of the Kurdish community on the other hand, as well as the social wreckages caused by the ongoing conflict in the region are either ignored or not by the politicians. This panel will focus on the “everyday life” problems based on direct experiences of people living in the region and try to find a way to include the issues which are excluded by the media in daily discussions
Societal justice and reconstruction of peace or transitional justice
In the literature, research on community based justice and peace mechanisms, that deals with the social and political destructions as a result of long lasting war and conflict where legal and official processes to reestablish justice do not find strong social response, is considered under the topics of transitional justice and restorative justice. Such efforts have an unignorable importance in defining the active role to be played by the people and societies who have deep feelings of injustice in Turkey in the process of building the road to peace, establishing democratic public spheres, tracking the unjust treatments towards the community in question and unveiling the original concepts of peace and justice. Without giving the right to speak to the oppressed individuals and communities, it would not be possible to uncover their different expectations related to the compensation of the unjust treatments, inquiries on realities and establishment of peace. It would also not be possible for such expectations to contribute to the official negotiations carried out between official channels. The panel which is being organized in light of these concerns plans to generate discussions on the studies that focus on the experiences of the oppressed, their wishes and expectations towards participating in the peace process and their opinions on the reestablishment of peace.
Role of the Political Parties in the Settlement of the Kurdish Issue:
As discussions continue on the Constitution of Turkey, which is far from catering for the political, social, cultural and community needs of the country, the approaches of the political parties within the “Constitutional Reconciliation Committee” towards the Kurdish issue, an issue which stands right in the heart of the constitution discussions, point out the difficulties of the constitution making process. The new citizenship definition, mother tongue issue and the models for local governments constitute the focal point of the discussions. The constitutional amendments are to play an important role for the solution of the Kurdish issue. However, there is an important bottleneck, which is the attitude of the political parties against the negotiations between the state and PKK. Political parties remain as abstainers in this process in order not to contradict with their organizations and to draw reactions from the (Turkish) community. This is the reason why the political parties are blocked in the way to finding a solution for the Kurdish Issue based on dialogue. The panel will also seek an answer to the question of what can be done to overcome this political blockage.
Conflict Resolution and Negotiation
The Government believes that the Kurdish issue can only be resolved if PKK lays down its arms. PKK, on the other hand, states that violence is not indeed approved by them either however they have no other instruments to bring the Kurdish issue to the agenda of the public opinion. This panel will elaborate on the role of dialogue and negotiation in the settlement of the Kurdish issue as well as the experiences of other countries that have established similar dialogue processes.
Our purpose in this conference is to enable comprehensive discussions on the above-mentioned issues and to contribute to the steps to be taken in Turkey towards peace.
Programme
07 December 2012, Friday
09.30-09.45 Registration
09.45-10.00 Inaugural Adress by
Necdet İpekyüz, Diyarbakır Institute for Political and Social Research
Ulrike Dufner, Heinrich Boll Foundation
10.00-12.30 Panel I: Life and Perceptions
Being Kurdish in Turkey
Özlem Özdemir, The Social Sensitivity Association
Experiences of Kurdish Youth from 1990s to Present
Rojin Canan Akın, Author
Conflict and Women in the Region
Zozan Özgökçe, Van Woman Foundation
Moderator: Nurcan Baysal, Diyarbakır Institute for Political and Social Research
12.30-14.00 Break
14.00-17.00 Panel II: Societal Justice and Reconstruction of Peace
Call for Justice: Political Friendship
Nesrin Uçarlar, Researcher
Importance of Remembering during Transitional Justice:
The Center for Turth, Justice, Memory
Özgür Sevgi Göral, The Center for Turth, Justice, Memory
Changing Perceptions and the Role of the Civil Society
Ayşe Betül Çelik, Sabancı University
Moderator: Yılmaz Ensaroğlu, SETA Foundation
08 December 2012, Saturday
10.00-12.30 Panel III: Kurdish Issue and Perspectives for Solution
AK Party, Orhan Atalay, Chairman of the National Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Committee
BDP, Sırrı Süreyya Önder, Member of the Constitutional Reconciliation Committee
CHP, Atilla Kart, Member of the Constitutional Reconciliation Committee (tbc)
Moderator: Cengiz Çandar, Journalist
12.30-14.00 Break
14.00-17.00 Panel IV: Conflict Resolution and Negotiation
Democratic Negotiation Methods
Didem Akyel Collinsworth, International Crisis Group
Dialogue Group and Dialogue
Şahismail Bedirhanoğlu, GÜNSİAD
Case of Northern Ireland
Angela Mickley, Potsdam University
Moderator: Mithat Sancar, Ankara University