Conference in Berlin: Democracy and Freedom in Turkey

A conference with renowned personalities from Turkey and Kurdistan is taking place in Berlin this weekend. The two-day conference entitled “Democracy and Freedom” is a follow-up event to the conference “In Search of a Social Contract for a Democratic Turkey”, which was held in Berlin in 2019.

With this event, the organisers want to support the struggle for democratisation in Turkey. More than fifty opposition activists from Turkey have called for the conference, including journalists Can Dündar, Celal: Can Dündar, Celal Başlangıç, Ragıp Zarakolu, Doğan Özgüden, Ragıp Duran, Inci Tuğsavul, Hayko Bağdat, Güler Yıldız, Veysi Sarısözen, Yavuz Baydar and Ahmet Nesin as well as the member of the Bundestag Gökay Akbulut (DIE LINKE), Kurdish politician in exile Besime Konca and the HDP honorary president Ertuğrul Kürkçü.

The programme began with a welcome by Hayko Bağdat, after which Prof. Neşe Özgen explained the rest of the proceedings. As a result of the two-day discussions, working groups will be formed, Özgen stated. On the first day, discussions will be held in three sections on “damage assessment”, “ways out” and “building the future”.

HDP MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, who was invited to speak, can only attend the conference online due to a ban on travelling abroad ordered by the Ankara chief public prosecutor’s office.

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