FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE EU TURKEY AND THE KURDS

FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE EU, TURKEY AND THE KURDS
to protect human rights and promote rule of law in 1996, and KHRP was short listed
for the Liberty/Justice/Law Society Human Rights Awards in 2004. Yildiz has written
extensively on human rights including numerous essays, articles and book chapters
on freedom of expression, national security and minority rights published in English,
Turkish and Russian.
Andrew Duff
Since July 1999 Andrew Duff has been the Liberal Democrat Member of the European
Parliament for the East of England. Duff is spokesman on constitutional affairs
for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). He is Vice-President
of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, and a substitute member of the
Parliament’s Security and Defence Sub-Committee. He co-chairs the Parliament’s
Federalist Intergroup. In 2004 Duff became rapporteur on the appointment of the
Barroso Commission. In 2005, following the results of the French and Dutch referendums
on the Constitution, he became the Parliament’s co-rapporteur on the Union’s
period of reflection on how to find a way forward.
Ahmet Turk
Born in 1942 in Mardin. Türk left Ankara Economy and Trade Science Academy
in his final year. In 1973 he entered parliament as CHP’s (People’s Republic Party)
Mardin representative. He was a parliamentarian for two periods. Due to the 1980
military coup he was arrested and imprisoned for 22 months and he was barred from
politics until 1986. He entered parliament in 1987 for SHP (Social Democrat People’s
Party) as a Mardin representative. Due to participating in a Kurdish conference in
Paris he and 6 parliamentarian friends were expelled from SHP. He was among the
founders of HEP (People’s Labour Party) and for one period he was the president.
Türk was also the founding member and Vice-President of DEP (Democracy Party)
and HADEP (People’s Democracy Party). He entered parliament with an alliance of
DEP and SHP in 1991 under the list of SHP. His immunity was lifted and he was imprisoned
once again in 1994. After staying in prison for 22 months he was released.
He is the founder and co-president of the Democratic Society Party (DTP).
Amed Dicle
Amed Dicle is a Kurd who was born in 1980 in Diyarbakır, Turkey. Already in High
School, he was faced with problems relating to the Kurdish question, when he was
dismissed from school after defending the right to speak his mother tongue. Dicle has
worked in various Kurdish institutions, and after being subject to several investigations
as well as detentions, he was forced to leave Turkey. Since, he has worked as a
reporter, newspaper and magazine columnist in various European countries. Addi-
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