At the end of February 2015, PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan declared that he expects his followers to lay down arms, once the conditions for a settlement are met. For many observers, this was a puzzling step. The Kurdish conflict had just escalated. Tensions had hardened between the Turkish security forces and Kurdish, Turkish and Islamist groups in Turkey as a result of the Syrian and Iraqi wars and the fight for Kobane. Negotiations with the PKK seemed to be at the verge of collapse.
Öcalans declaration may give new hopes for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, but the background of his declaration remains unclear. The pro-Kurdish party HDP’s decision to enter parliamentary elections as party rather than as independents raises questions. The threshold is ten percent and may well be too high for the HDP to surmount.
The panel will be look at developments in Turkey from a European perspective. Is there any leverage, which European actors have left to make an impact on the peace process? What are the expected influences of the developments in Turkey on Europe’s and Germany’s Kurds and vice-versa?
The panel will be conducted in German and Turkish with simultaneous translation. There will be drinks reception afterwards.
Panelists: Susanne Güsten, Gülistan Gürbey, Latif Tas, Baha Güngör.
Date: 31 March 2015, 19:00-20:30
Venue: Humboldt University of Berlin
Auditorium des Jacob-und-Wilhelm-Grimm-Zentrums
Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 3
10117 Berlin
Kurdish Studies Network 