Line-up for Turkish defeated coup symposium unveiled

By Tahir Turan Eroglu

KOCAELI, Turkey

An international symposium on Turkey’s defeated coup attempt in July 2016 is set to draw politicians, academics, and analysts from around the world.

Kocaeli in central Turkey will host a series of discussions on Oct. 26-28.

It will form part of the Kartepe Summit, where Anadolu Agency is the communications partner.

The opening speeches will be delivered at the International Symposium on the 15 July and Coups D’etat: Global Effects, Media and Democracy by Turkish leaders, including Deputy Prime Ministers Bekir Bozdag and Fikri Isik, Culture Minister Numan Kurtulmus.

Gunter Verheugen, former European Commissioner for Enlargement, will deliver a speech on ‘European Values and Democratic Stance against Coups D’etat: Is the Language Union Possible in the Order of Global Terror and Coups?’.

Turkey's presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin will also address the symposium on ‘15 July: Coup, Democracy and the World System’.

The Speaker of Azerbaijan’s parliament, Ogtay Asadov, and Edin Music, chairman of Bosnia’s House of Representatives, are also scheduled to speak at the Kartepe event.

Media personalities will also attend the symposium, including Turkish reporter Hande Firat -- known internationally for taking a live FaceTime call from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on television during the July 15 defeated coup attempt.

Wadah Khanfar -- former CEO of Al-Jazeera -- will be speaking at the ‘July 15 and the Media’ plenary session.

Academics from 30 countries, including Turkey, will also analyze coups, their basis, and methods of fighting them.

Reporting by Tahir Turan by Kubra Chohan