Turkey and Kurds again in EU`s discussion table …
Time for changes ?
Ararat News -Publishing (ANP) – Roni ALASOR – 22/1/2009 / Brussels – The 5th Turco-Kurdo conference will take place under the name "Time for Change" in the European Parliament in 28 and 29 of January in Brussels. The conference is organised by EU-Turkey Civic Comitee (EUTCC); Rafto Foundation (Norway), Kurdish Human Rights Project (UK), Medico international (Germany) and Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales. But the patrons of the conference are ; Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate from South Africa ; Dr. Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate from Iran ; Bianca Jagger, Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador & Chair of the World Future Council, UK ; Noam Chomsky, Professor and writer from USA ; Yasar Kemal, writer from Turkey and the winner of the European Parliament`s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought & the Rafto Prize in Norway. Leyla Zana. Zana has been prisoned in Turkey for more then 10 years after talking on Kurdish-language in the Turkish Parliament (TBMM) in 1993.
The aim of all these conferences since many years, organised by EUTCC, are to bring together Turks, Kurds and Europeans; politicians, MEP’s representing most of the groups in the EU Parliament, NGO’s, academics, writers, legal experts and journalists to discus and solve the Kurdish question in Turkey. But so long, there has been not important challenges to solve the Kurdish problem in Turkey, as well as respect and protection of minorities, nevertheless to make a end of the human rights records in the country, trough the Turkish governments reforms in the last years over the papers… The war between Kurdish fighters and Turkish army continue, left many ten of thousand dead since 1984.
In a press release, EUTCC has underlined that the main objective of the 5th International Conference in Brussels in 2009 will be to further contribute to the ongoing discussion on Turkey’s accession process and to seek proposals for a democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish Question. The EUTCC believes that a successful integration of Turkey requires a durable solution of the Kurdish problem. This depends on a political rather than a military solution. A political solution can only be achieved through dialogue. By the Fifth International Conference the EUTCC wishes to contribute to this dialogue.
http://www.araratnews.eu/nuce.php?aid=334
