Post-Election Turkey: Is Peace Achievable?
Refugee Workers Cultural Association (RWCA) in partnership with the Centre for Turkey Studies (CEFTUS) and the Centre for Kurdish Progress are pleased to invite you to a public forum with the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Ms Figen Yuksekdag on 30 November 2015.
Please see speaker biography below.
This event will take place between 7pm and 9pm on 30th November 2015 in Committee Room 9 of the House of Commons. This event is kindly hosted by Seema Malthotra MP for Feltham and Heston.
Please note security checks are required to enter the House of Commons. We kindly ask you to arrive at 6.30PM to allow the event to start and end on time. Booking is required for this event to ensure adequate seating available.
After three elections over a period of two years, the final general election which was held on 1 November 2015 brought the longest ruling political party in modern Turkey, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), back to power. Prior to the November elections, Turkey had entered a politically turbulent period. Many critical developments which include the collapse of the Peace Process, increased violent clashes between Turkish armed forces and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), bomb attacks carried out by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) left over 200 people dead and many more injured and a Turkey that is unstable and polarised. Turkey has now closed its elections period and a one party government is in power, but questions remain as to how the peace with Kurds will be achieved, how the ISIS threat will be destroyed and whether public opinion in Turkey will reconcile.
Co-Chair of Turkey’s second biggest opposition party, the HDP, Ms Figen Yuksekdag will elaborate on the developments over the last two years and address the HDP’s strategies for peaceful reconciliation in Turkey.
We look forward to welcoming you to this event.
Speaker Biography
Figen Yüksekdag was born in Adana, Turkey, into an ethnically Turkish family. She is often assumed to be Kurdish or Alevi, however her family are Sunni Turks. She was an independent parliamentary candidate for the Adana electoral district in the 2002 general election. She was involved in women’s rights movements for several years before becoming the editor of the Socialist Woman magazine. While serving on the board of the Atılım newspaper, she was taken into custody in 2009 due to her political activity. She cofounded the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) shortly after in 2010 and resigned as leader in 2014 to join the HDP, with which the ESP merged later the same year. During the second ordinary congress of the HDP, she was elected the co-chair of the HDP.
About RWCA
Refugee Workers Cultural Association (RWCA) was founded in 1991 through needs identified from the Turkish and the Kurdish community. The barriers faced by the community are lack of inclusion, primarily due to language and culture and lack of Equal social and political rights. RWCA aims to be the eyes, ears and the voice of the Turkish and the Kurdish communities against discriminative and racist laws and legislations and raise awareness around the anti democratic laws, legislations and practices in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan. The other aim of (RWCA) is to provide a support service to the Turkish and the Kurdish community living in the UK.