sPAT January 2017 Agenda: ‘Terror and Security’

In the first meetings of 2017, the small Provincial Assemblies of Turkey gathers with the agenda, “Terror and Security.”

Majority of the meetings since 2011 included agenda – sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly – regarding regional developments, foreign policies of Turkey and terrorist attacks. 

When we take a look at the summaries of these meetings, even in the common denominator reports, it is easily tracked that we are chronologically being drawn into a vicious cycle of violence: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8…

The reports of the last two years reveal similar consequences, that there are vastly different evaluations on Turkey and its situation among the issues of this region.

2016 has been a difficult year for Turkey. We have entered the new year in the same place we left 2016 as well.

It seems that the massacre/terror on a nightclub in Istanbul during the New Year’s Eve celebrations will inevitably be debated for a long time.

We hope that this will be “the last time.” 

Although in this sensitive period, Turkey needs to debate these “differences” of opinion more than ever. 

In the first meetings of 2017, the small Provincial Assemblies of Turkey gathers with the agenda, “Terror and Security.”

The time and location of the meetings are as indicated below:

Information on the meetings:

In case there is more than one person representing the same organization, only one of those representatives can take the floor at once. The time periods indicated below may be increased or decreased as long as all participants agree on the change and the flow of the meeting is not disrupted.

In our meetings, special guests speak about the general agenda for 10 minutes following the introduction video presented at the beginning of each meeting. After the special guests, the turn of speech is given first to Non-Governmental Organizations for 5 minutes each, then to Political representatives for 5 minutes each. Once the first round is completed, either the second round, or a question-answer session beings; according to the number of attendance and to the common preferences of the participants. In the Q/A session, political party representatives have 2 minutes to answer the questions asked by the civil society in 15 seconds. In this session, the special guests may be asked questions as well. The same format is applied for the local agenda as well, and the meeting concludes.