Continue reading “Turkey: a serious diplomatic crisis that can still be avoided”
Kurdish Friendship Group in European Parliament calls for end to violence
The appeal below, signed by 5 MEPs of the Kurdish Friendship Group in the European Parliament, was circulated on the weekend:
The crackdown against the Kurdish people must stop
Call of the EP-Kurdish Friendship Group
For a month now, the Turkish army has been running jointly with the special police forces an operation of unprecedented violence against the towns located in the Kurdish region of Turkey.
10,000 men supported by tanks and helicopters are mobilized for this offensive which virtually turned the country’s Southeast into a war zone.
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Conference at the EP: Yezidi Kurds and the Middle East
The Representation in Europe of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and the European Yezidi Federation co-organize a conference at the European Parliament on the following subject: YEZIDI KURDS AND THE MIDDLE-EAST:CURRENT SITUATION & FUTURE PROJECTIONS
November 19th 17:00 – 19:00
Room: 4Q2 – European Parliament / Brussels
Simultaneous interpretation: English, French & German
Opening speech:
MEP Ana Gomes, S&D Group, Portugal
PANEL
17:15 – 19:00
Moderator:
MEP Josef Weidenholzer, S&D Group in the EP, Austria
Current situation: the Yezidis From History to Present
Şefik Tagay (PhD), Chair of the Union of Yezidi Academics
Future Projections of the Yezidis for a Recognised Status
Mr. Ali Atalan, Co-Chair of the European Êzidi Federation Continue reading “Conference at the EP: Yezidi Kurds and the Middle East”
EP Foreign Affairs committee drafts response to 2013 progress report
The European Parliament Foreign Affairs committee (AFET) has produced a draft report on the European Commission’s 2013 (EU Enlargement) Progress Report on Turkey, published in October this year.
The AFET is the first body within the European Parliament to assess the EC’s yearly progress reports and this draft is the first indication of the European Parliament’s official position on the report. AFET Report will be adopted most probably in January 2014 (the deadline for amendments is foreseen for next 8th of January, an AFET meeting is scheduled for the end of January), and then, after its adoption in AFET, it will be sent to the E.P. Plenary for final adoption in STRASBOURG. Before the final adoption of the report in March, there is an opportunity for interested parties to suggest amendments to the report. Peace in Kurdistan campaign made its own submissions last year, and will do so again this year.
You can download a copy of the AFET draft report here.
Conference on Democracy, Self-Determination and Liberation of Peoples
Held at the European Parliament, 23 September 2013. The final outcomes of the conference, set out in a declaration, are published below.
PRESS RELEASE
European Parliament
Brussels, Belgium
September 23, 2013
BRUSSELS, Belgium—Over a hundred representatives from various countries, civil society groups and grassroots organizations gathered at the European Parliament to hold the Conference on Democracy, Self-Determination and Liberation of Peoples last September 23, 2013. Organized by the offices of Members of the European Parliament Jürgen Klute and Iñaki Irazabalbeitia, IBON International and KONKURD (Confederation of Kurdish Associations in Europe), the conference aims to reaffirm the fundamental principles enshrined in the various UN declarations on the collective rights of peoples to self-determination and liberation.
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Turkey 2011 Progress Report debated in EP
The European Parliament recently published the Resolution on Turkey’s 2011 Progress Report regarding Turkey’s bid for EU membership. The draft report, written by the EP’s Turkey rapporteur, Ria Oomen-Ruijten, was discussed at a plenary on the 28-29 March, and a summary of that debate has been released. We reproduce it here for you to read comments from representative from round Europe on the issue: Continue reading “Turkey 2011 Progress Report debated in EP”
Demirtas and Kisanak write to members of the EP
As members of the European Parliament gather today to debate the 2011 Progress Report on Turkey and EU Enlargement, we reproduce below a letter written by BDP Co-Chairs Selahattin Demitas and Gultan Kışanak to members of the EP:
28 March 2012
TO MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Honorable members of the parliament,
First of all, we would like to let you know that, we have written this letter for the purpose of to contribute to the debates regarding Turkey in European Parliament. As you know, Turkey has sophisticated and traumatic issues such as Kurdish Issue, debates on the constitution, from centralization to decentralization and of course the fundamental rights. It is very clear that all the concerned issues directly related each other. Up until today, collective and political problems which based on relations with the power and claimant people are evaluated at the heart of security oriented mentality by the governments in Turkey. We are sorry to say that, Turkey’s governments are continuing to pressures against the civil society including press, trade unions and opposite political parties and their supporters with the international actors’ indirect contribution. It is clear that, AKP Government’s unilateral and patronizing approach prevents dialogue and the negotiation process which the key method for the solution. Continue reading “Demirtas and Kisanak write to members of the EP”