turkish-greek civic dialogue - AEGEE Europe

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MÜFIDE PEKIN
VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE FOUNDATION
OF LAUSANNE TREATY EMIGRANTS
“The Turkish-Greek Civic Dialogue Project has been an extremely rewarding
experience for both the initiators of the Project and for those who have
been involved in it, either as participants or observers. Beyond the obvious
importance of achieving and maintaining the venues for a Turkish-Greek
dialogue, this endeavour has provided a landmark in engaging the youth to
enhance the mutual understanding and trust between the two societies. Once
again, the confidence in younger generations has proven its value when it
comes to open-mindedness, common production and peace-oriented activism.
I hope our young colleagues and friends feel the same way too.”
It has been a special honour for the Foundation of Lausanne Treaty Emigrants
to be involved in the Project as a partner. It is of course, one of the missions of
the Foundation to support friendship and cooperation among Turkish and Greek
youth with the aim of establishing a culture of peace. For that reason, the
Foundation has approached the Project with special care and enthusiasm from
the beginning and has envisaged it as one of the first steps that will pave the
way to peace in the Aegean. In fact, “supporting friendship and cooperation
among Turkish and Greek people with the aim of establishing a culture of
peace” is stated as one of the objectives in the statute of the Foundation
of Lausanne Treaty Emigrants. To this end, the Foundation has been and will
be in the future putting great emphasis at organising seminars, conferences,
symposiums, contests, concerts and similar events to realise these aims.
“The preliminary contacts between the Foundation of Lausanne Emigrants and
AEGEE - Ankara started in the year 2000. The beginning of the millennium was
also the time when active work was started by a group of immigrant families to
found a nation-wide organisation with the aim of preserving and regenerating
the cultural identity and values of “Lausanne Emigrants” who were forced
to leave their birth places in Greece to settle in a new homeland following
the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne between the two countries, Greece and
Turkey. During this period of preparation, which was to end with the official
founding of our Foundation in May 2001, we made our first acquaintanceship
with AEGEE-Ankara through the former exchange coordinator Cem Tüzüner.
The year 2000 was declared as the “Year of Peace” by the United Nations. In
this context, the Foundation and AEGEE-Ankara organised similar events and
shared aims started their communication. This cooperation finally ended in a
partnership when the Foundation’s project proposal to organise a symposium
to commemorate the 80 th Anniversary of the Compulsory Population Exchange
between Greece and Turkey was accepted by the Turkish-Greek Civic Dialogue
project team of AEGEE-Ankara. The organisation of this symposium was to take
place under the great project of the Greek-Turkish Civic Dialogue.”
“What followed was months of preparation for an international symposium
during which our information exchange with our partner was painstaking and
exhausting at times. Needless to say, there were times of dissonance and
misunderstandings between the partners during this long period of preparation
which sometimes sprang from a lack of communication and the inexperience
resulting from our side mostly in carrying out such a cumbersome task. Yet,
with the determination, good-will and patience of both parties, all problems
were resolved and the first ever academic symposium to be held in Turkey on
this subject of the Compulsory Population Exchange was realised after 80 years
on November 7-8 2003 in İstanbul.”
“This symposium brought together a total of 26 academics from Turkey, Greece
and one from England who presented papers on the various aspects of the
Exchange. Presentations and the discussions following were centered around
the political, social, historical aspects of the Exchange, its reflections on
literature and issues concerning the conservation and preservation of cultural
heritage left behind by the immigrants.”
“The problem of minorities was another subject to be covered by symposium
papers by academics of both countries. The symposium was received with
ardent interest and attention by young academics, graduate and post-graduate
students of Turkish and Greek Universities, families of immigrants, members
of our Foundation and the media including TV channels from Turkey and
Greece, the Turkish Section of BBC, and journalists of both countries and the
distinguished “Economist”. The occasion was largely covered by newspapers,
web-sites, radio programs and periodical articles in Turkey, Greece and
England. In spite of all the hardships and obstacles faced during the process
of preparation, our Foundation worked in close collaboration and solidarity
in launching the publicity campaign of our project. Programs and related
announcements appeared on the web-sites of both AEGEE-Ankara and the
Final Conference Association des Etats Généraux des Etudiants de L’Europe