The Ergenekon Case

Implications for Turkish Politics and Society

Roundtable Discussion
Keynote Speaker: Mr. Gareth H. Jenkins
11 March 2010
The Marmara Hotel / Taksim

Dear Sir;

On behalf of the ARI MOVEMENT I am pleased to invite you to our roundtable discussion on “The Ergenekon Case; Implications for Turkish Politics and Society”.

ARI Movement has so far organized more than 50 roundtable discussions in Turkey and among others hosted Madeleine Albright, Hikmet Cetin, Kemal Dervis, Hans Kretschmer, Soli Özel, Mehmet Ali Talat, Charles Grant and Rauf Denktas as keynote speakers. The matters taken up in these discussions reached from security issues to Turkey’s EU membership and domestic socio-political developments.

ARI Movement is proud to provide a democratic platform for open discussion on the Erkenekon case and its implications on Turkish politics and society. We have invited Mr. Gareth H. Jenkins, a well known journalist who has been working on the controversies of the Ergenekon case, to make a presentation at ARI Movement’s roundtable meeting titled “The Ergenekon Case: Implications for Turkish Politics and Society”. Taraf daily newspaper editor Yıldıray Oğur and Yeditepe University lecturer assistant professor Emrullah Uslu will be contributing as panelists.

Since it was first launched in June 2007, the Ergenekon case has divided the Turkish population. To some the Ergenekon investigation is an opportunity for the country finally to eradicate the “deep state”; To its detractors, the Ergenekon investigation is politically motivated; the alleged organization itself a deliberate fabrication by government sympathizers in an attempt to try to discredit and disable secularist opposition to the AKP.

As ARI Movement, it is within our ethical concern that each political issue be debated and analyzed in depth, and each voice be heard and communicated to the parties of interest. In today’s political milieu where the political discourses of the major groups are further diverging, it is seen necessary that journalists, activists and academicians should be provided a safe haven to communicate their own understanding of crucial issues such as the Ergenekon case- the largest and most controversial judicial investigation in recent Turkish history.

We would be honored to welcome you as one of discussants in our roundtable meeting.

Please kindly indicate your reply to Deniz Yazgan (Tel: 212 225 4462, Mail: Bu mail adresi spam botlara karşı korumalıdır, görebilmek için Javascript açık olmalıdır )

Ural AKÜZÜM
ARI Movement
Chairman

ARI Movement Winter 2010 Roundtable Discussion

“The Ergenekon Case:

Implications for Turkish Politics and Society”

09.30 -10.00 Registration

10.00- 10.40               “Between Fact and Fantasy: Turkey’s Ergenekon Investigation”

Moderator: Ural AKÜZÜM (Chairman, Ari Movement)

Gareth H. Jenkins (Journalist, author, analyst)

Yıldıray Oğur (Editor of Taraf Daily Newspaper)

10.40 – 12.30             Roundtable Discussion I

12.30 - 13.30              Lunch Break

13.30 – 14.10             “Implications of the Ergenekon case for Turkish Politics and Society”

Moderator: Ural AKÜZÜM (Chairman, Ari Movement)

Gareth H. Jenkins (Journalist, author, analyst)

Dr. Emrullah Uslu (Lecturer, Yeditepe University)

14.10 – 16.00             Roundtable Discussion II

16.00 – 16.30             Closing Remarks

Note: Turkish-English simultaneous translation service will be provided throughout the meeting

 ARI MOVEMENT is an independent social movement, which aims at educating the future (societal) leaders of Turkey, fostering participatory democracy and increasing Turkey’s influence in international arenas. The mission of ARI MOVEMENT can also be defined in three parts:

·         To establish a new understanding of volunteerism among the Turkish youth and foster the values of participatory democracy in their everyday lives of the young generation.

·         To promote civil society’s role in the creation and dissemination of information. 

·         To encourage structural and intellectual change in the social and political arena.

ARI MOVEMENT holds roundtable discussions on current political topics. These roundtable discussions are attended by academics, media, ARI members and staff as well as students. Below are some of the roundtable discussions organized by the International Relations Committee of the ARI MOVEMENT.

·         “Turkish-EU Relations after the Copenhagen Summit” with Ambassador Hans Kretschmer, Head of the European Commission Representation to Turkey. (20 January 2003)

·         “Developments in Iraq and Turkish Foreign Policy” with Brigadier General (Ret.) Nejat Eslen and Soli Özel from Bilgi University. (26 February 2003)

·         “Turkey and Europe: 18 Hard Months to Come” at the European Parliament in Brussels with Kemal Derviş, MP, Former Minister of State in charge of Economy and Joost Lagendijk, Member of the European Parliament, Chairman of the Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee (17 March 2003)

·         “Cyprus” with the Cyprus Republican Turkish Party Leader Mehmet Ali Talat (28 October 2003)

·         “Means to Solve the Cyprus Problem” with TRNC President Rauf Denktaş (19 November 2003)

·         “EU Expansion and Turkish-EU Relations” with Charles Grant, Director of Center for European Reform (23 March 2004).

·         “Women in Turkey” with Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State (2 July 2007).

Other activities of ARI MOVEMENT include annual conferences on specific topics such as the security, women’s rights and youth and numerous international exchange programs with the US, Germany, Israel and Sweden.  Moreover the movement is active in the realm of social and political participation in Anatolia and can record over 350 trips to Anatolian cities.

ARI MOVEMENT’s headquarters are located in Istanbul; however, it has offices in Brussels, Washington and Ankara as well as representatives in Canada, Germany and Great Britain.