Menekse Tokyay for Southeast European Times As Turkey’s EU bid has stalled, a group of prominent scholars agree that negotiations can only proceed if Turkey advances democracy, drafts a new civilian constitution and resolves of the Kurdish issue. The Abant Platform has long been a progressive force in Turkey, bringing together intellectuals to debate and […]
SEVGİ AKARÇEŞME, ABANT/TURKEY Professor Hans Köchler from Austria, the president of the International Progress Organization (IPO), has said the European Union’s resistance to Turkey’s membership is not due to its identity or its Islamic culture, as some argue, but mainly for economic reasons. The Abant Platform organized by the Journalists and Writers’ Foundation (GYV) hosted […]
SEVGİ AKARÇEŞME, ABANT/BOLU/TURKEY Participants of the three-day-long Abant Platform meeting have emphasized the need to finish drafting a new constitution, stressed the importance of a state that is equidistant to all beliefs and underlined the significance of reviving Turkey’s membership talks with the European Union. Long a byword for describing a gathering that attracts a […]
SEVGİ AKARÇEŞME, ABANT/BOLU In the second day of discussions at the 28th Abant Platform meeting, participants leveled criticism at both Turkey and the EU while reiterating support for Turkey’s membership process at large. It was agreed that although Turkey’s long-term interests lie in EU membership, both sides suffer from fatigue as Turkey’s disappointment leads to […]
SEVGİ AKARÇEŞME, ABANT/BOLU/TURKEY The Abant Platform started its 28th meeting on Friday at Lake Abant with the participation of over a hundred intellectuals, academics, journalists and pundits from different ideological backgrounds to discuss the current issues in Turkey. The first theme of the meeting was on Turkey’s issues of identity. Participants agreed that the misinterpretation […]
Turkey’s foremost civil intellectual forum, Abant Platform‘s workshop on “Diverse Perspectives on Turkey,” will be held in February 8-10, 2013 in Abant, Bolu. The Abant Platform is founded as an intellectual forum by the Journalists and Writers Foundation to promote democratic engagement for expanding social consensus and the coexistence of society’s rich cultural resources within […]
SEVGI AKARÇEŞME, İSTANBUL Gunnar Stalsett, the bishop emeritus of Oslo, warned about a hatred of Islam at a joint panel discussion organized by the Abant Platform and Fountain Magazine in İstanbul on Friday. “When I hear the word ‘Islamophobia,’ I think it is too mild. There is a hatred of Islam. It is not only […]
Democratization 1- Turkey’s culture is at present characterized by a susceptibility to in-group / out-group tension, the effects of which impede democratization. Authoritarianism and patriarchal hierarchy are aspects of group culture that are reflected at the family level and scaled up to the political level as majoritarian democracy and internally undemocratic institutions. Two basic institutions […]
24 June 2012 / YONCA POYRAZ DOĞAN, ABANT No matter the problems related to the European Union’s historical financial crisis and Turkey’s loss of enthusiasm regarding membership in the EU; participants of the 27th Abant meeting, titled “Different Perspectives on Turkey,” have said that Turkey needs the EU in order to improve its fragile democracy. […]
Ihsan YILMAZ June 22, 2012 The Abant Platform, being an innovative institution, has now initiated a new discussion forum which, as far as I am aware, is a first in Turkey. We will be discussing different perspectives on Turkey together with non-Turkish academics, diplomats and journalists working in the country. For three days, we will […]
22 June 2012 / YONCA POYRAZ DOĞAN, ABANT Even though Turkey has achieved great economic development in the past 10 years, it is still having trouble consolidating its democracy, according to both native and non-native participants of the 27th Abant Platform. In his introductory speech, Sabancı University’s Ersin Kalaycıoğlu said on Friday at the 27th […]
The Journal of Turkish Weekly Thursday, 15 March 2012 The 26th Abant Platform, which brings together high-profile intellectuals, journalists, legal experts and politicians, concluded on Sunday (March 11th) with a recommendation that Turkey’s Constitution recognise the right to education in languages other than Turkish. “Education in one’s mother tongue is an essential human right. The […]
Mümtazer Türköne, 12 March 2012 I attended the debates on a new constitution over the weekend. The environment that the Abant Platform offers is intense and rich. Opposite ideas and views meet there, and holders of these views debate matters. Communicating directly with those who hold different views, reacting to their views instantly and reviewing […]
9 March 2012 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL As this year’s Abant Platform tackles the pressing issue of shaping Turkey’s new constitution, a wide spectrum of intellectuals, lawyers, political leaders and journalists are discussing the problematic areas of, and proposing solutions to, the constitutional drafting process. “Deliberations should continue with the spirit of respecting each other’s […]