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BAU and GPI held a Panel Discussion in New York on “Safe Zone in Syria”
On September 24, 2019, the Global Policy Institute and Bay Atlantic University held an event at the Yale Club of New York City, titled “Safe Zones in Syria: The Way Forward”. The event took place on the sidelines of the 74th UN General Assembly.
The panel discussion featured distinguished experts:
Richard Outzen, Senior Advisor for Syria Engagement, U.S. Department of State
Juliette Tolay, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Penn State Harrisburg
Qutaiba Idlbi, Non-resident Fellow, Global Policy Institute.
Paolo von Schirach, GPI President, moderated the panel discussion.
The event started with welcoming remarks offered by Enver Yucel, Founder and Chairman of BAU Global. He pointed out that “History will not forget those who have given a hand to the Syrian refugees and to the peace process as well as those who have stayed silent and ignored them.”
Keynote speaker Alex Mejia, Division Director of UNITAR and United Nations Chair of Mayoral Migration Forum Task Force, praised Turkey for its critical role and for being so generous during the Syrian refugee crisis.
Indeed, there are more than 3 million Syrian refugees in Turkey. Additional millions took refuge from the war in Jordan, Lebanon and Europe. The three panelists focused their remarks on recent negotiations between Ankara and Washington aimed at creating “Safe Zones” at the Turkey-Syria border, so that at least some refugees may have a chance to return; while Turkey will avert the danger of instability and unfriendly forces at its southern border.
Richard Outzen, U.S. Department of State Senior Advisor for Syria Engagement, stressed that The US and Turkey should overcome their disagreements over the nature and role of the Syrian Kurds (YPG), as soon as possible. He also pointed out that creating a safe zone is a complex policy issue, a “process” rather than a clearly defined goal.
Juliette Tolay, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Penn State Harrisburg, emphasized the magnitude of the Syrian refugee tragedy. She noted that the death toll and the exodus from Syria will continue to rise, unless the conflict is resolved.
Qutaiba Idlbi, Non-resident Fellow, Global Policy Institute said that a safe zone would be more beneficial to the US than Turkey; but he also underlined that the US should distance itself from YPG first in order to create more common ground with Turkey.
