Democratization

There are no female MPs in 43 out of 81 provinces. This democratic deficit can only be changed through a very radical change in the process of nomination. In this regard, the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), whose charter guarantees “at least equal representation for women in all decision- making mechanisms” can be taken as a good practice. The presence of co-chairs in party organs and local government is another exemplary practice for the equal representation of genders. This model or similar models could be adopted by other political parties.

“This very much resembles a penalty kick. If I were an Armenian, I would simply go on saying the same thing. That is because the centenary is a penalty kick of sorts. We are objecting to the referee’s decision. But the penalty will be taken. The Armenian views the centenary as a penalty kick in his favor, and will try to make the best of it. In the face of accusations that undermine its very identity, Turkey will do its utmost to explain its own version of events."

We started the year 2015 with the civil society’s struggle for democracy and rights on the one hand, and tensions created by an increasingly authoritarian government and regional upheaval and conflict on the other. A hundred years have passed since 1915.     

The so-called “settlement process” which began with PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) leader Abdullah Öcalan’s letter dated Mart 21, 2013 triggered debates in Kurdish organizations other than PKK. Kurdish movements small or big, which are a distant to PKK, initially approached Öcalan’s letter “with a prudent optimism”.

The Turkey Representation of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, the Diyarbakir Institute for Political and Social Research, İsmail Beşikçi Foundation and Open Society Foundation will jointly organize the international conference “From War to Peace, from Conflict to Resolution” in Istanbul on December 13, 2014 and in Diyarbakir on December 14, 2014. 

We regret to inform you that due to current developments in Turkey, “From War to Peace, From Conflict to Resolution” conference series, which would be held in Ankara on the 17th of October and in Diyarbakır on the 19th of October have been postponed until further notice and the new date will be announced at a future date.

24-25 May 2014 Place: Cezayir Meeting Hall Hayriye Caddesi 12, Galatasaray, Beyoğlu-İstanbul One year has passed since the protests that spread all over Turkey. This seems to be the right time to...

Fethullah Gülen,Tayyip Erdogan. Foto: Diyar se, Chilenische Regierung. Creative Commons Lizenzvertrag. Dieses Bild steht unter einer Creative Commons Lizenz. 14. Februar 2014 Ulrike Dufner Wir haben...

Istanbul Bilgi University Faculty of Law and Heinrich Boell Stiftung Turkey Representation are organizing a conference to elaborate on social media in four different contexts, placing freedom of expression in the heart of the discussions. The aim of this scholarly gathering is to bring together competent names in their respective fields to have comprehensive discussions on the different aspects of this issue.

We, as Diyarbakir Institute for Political and Social Research and Heinrich Boell Stiftung Foundation, thought it is necessary to organize 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 on the 7,8 December 2012 in Ankara.