SETA’s public seminar “Seeking Justice And Accountability: Rights Abuses And The Arab Uprisings” brought together Joe Stork and Jan Egeland of Human Rights Watch to discuss human rights in foreign policy making, and efforts to advocate for human rights and influence regimes like that in Syria which has turned a deaf ear to calls to end the brutal clampdown on demonstrators.

SETA PANEL DISCUSSION    Chair:     Talip Küçükcan, SETA    Panelists:    Taha Özhan, SETA     İhsan Dağı, METU    Mustafa Akyol, Star Newspaper  Tarih: May 26, 2011 Thursday  Saat: 15.00-17.00  Yer: SETA, Ankara

SETA is going to hire research assistants for the following fields:

Returning to Tunisia after 20 years in exile,the opposition leader Ghannouchi said Turkey provided political inspiration.

SETA PUBLIC LECTURE By  Ulaş Doğa Eralp,  Visiting Assistant Professor of Conflict Resolution, Sabancı University Date: July 8, 2010 Thursday  Time: 16.00 – 18.00 Venue: SETA Foundation, Ankara

On May 31, 2010, Israeli commandos stormed a passenger ship, the Mavi Marmara, the largest boat of a flotilla of six boats which were carrying 10000 tons of humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza, in international high waters. The operation left 9 activists dead and over 30 activists wounded. The flotilla attack started a new trend for Turkish-Israeli relations. For the first time in history, Turkish citizens were directly exposed to Israeli aggression. In this sense, the attack constitutes a break in Turkish-Israeli relations. It is now not only Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians that will shape the nature of Turkish-Israeli relations, more than anything else, but it is Israel’s steps towards salvaging bilateral relations by reassuring the Turkish nation and state.

SETA PANEL DISCUSSION Chair: Taha Özhan, SETA Panelists:        Bülent Aras, SETA & İTÜ     Mahmood Monshipouri,     San Francisco State University Date: March 22, 2010 Monday Time: 11.00 – 12.30 Venue: SETA Foundation, Ankara

Prime Minister Erdogan’s December 7th White House meeting with President Obama re-emphasized theimportance of Turkey to both the United States and its Western allies.

SETA PUBLIC LECTURE By  Irene Khan  Secretary General, Amnesty International Date: August 3, 2009 Monday  Time: 18.00 – 19.30 Venue: SETA Foundation, Ankara The SETA Foundation is pleased to host a a public lecture by Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International, entitled "The World We Live in: The Role of Turkey.” The event will be held at the SETA Foundation on Monday, August 3, 2009. What are the threats and opportunities for human rights in the global world? What is the situation of human rights in Turkey? What do the protection of rights and freedoms in Turkey mean to the world? How Turkey can contribute to the developments of human rights in the region?

SETA CONFERNCE By  Eduard Soler and Fadela Hilali  The CIDOB Foundation Mediterranean Programme Date: January 22, 2009 Thursday  Time: 10.00 – 12.00 Venue: SETA Foundation, Ankara

If there is one golden rule for understanding Turkish politics, it is this: You can never take anything for granted in Turkey. A case filed against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has come as a shock to many Turks as well as international observers.

According to a Herald Tribune report ("Young Iraqis are Losing their Faith in Religion," March 3, 2008), Iraqi youth are losing their religious faith.

Freedom of religion and worship is a fundamental human right that everyone should enjoy regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality or religious preference. The right to follow a particular religion and practice its rituals is recognized as legitimate by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.

A debate over the headscarf is revealing new dimensions of political discourse in Turkey. While conservatives and liberals use the universal language of basic rights and liberties, laicists use a heavily religious language to prove that the headscarf is not a religious obligation.

The deadlock created by the discussions on judicial independence and impartiality during the presidential election process and the extension of the discussions to the realm of fundamental rights and freedoms with a particular reference to the headscarf issue drew attention to what policy the AK Party would pursue to address these issues in the new term.  

We’re only five weeks away from April 16, when the candidates for the new president of Turkey will be announced. According to the rules, the new president has to be elected within 10 days of April 16. While the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) continues to keep silent on its name(s), the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is moving ahead under the assumption that Recep Tayyip Erdogan will have himself elected president.

CONFERENCE     February 8, 2007 German Marshall Fund, Washington DC