(Zurich, Berlin, Vienna – 14.3.2012) On the occasion of today’s International Day of Action for Riversan international coalition of environmental and human rights organisations launches a petition to UNESCO to become active in protecting potential World Heritage Sites which are under threat due to the construction of the Ilisu Dam in Turkey. For the first time initiatives from Turkey, Iraq and Iran engage jointly in the protection of their natural and cultural heritage.

The transnational alliance speaks out against the destruction of the 10,000 year old town Hasankeyf, which would be flooded in the Ilisu Dam’s reservoir, and against the severe impacts on the Mesopotamian Marshes and its inhabitants at the mouth of the Tigris river. They are supported by numerous organisations throughout the world, including Swiss Berne Declaration, CounterCurrent from Germany and ECA Watch Austria which have campaigned on the Ilisu project for over a decade.
Hasankeyf and the Tigris valley are a unique natural and cultural landscape. They form the livelihood for thousands of inhabitants. Even though Hasankeyf is under monumental protection by Turkish law, the Turkish government intends its inundation.
The Mesopotamian Marshes were included in the Tentative List of potential World Heritage Sites by the Iraqi government in 2003. The actual nomination process to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site has not been initiated however. Ulrich Eichelmann from ECA Watch Austria has recently visited the marshes. He confirms: “The impacts of the Ilisu Dam for the Mesopotamian Marshes would be devastating. If Ilisu becomes reality, the garden of Eden will dry up and hundreds of thousands Iraqi people will suffer.”
“Dams violate human rights, destroy nature and cultural goods and are not even climate friendly in many cases“, Heike Drillisch, coordinator of CounterCurrent, states. These points of criticism are currently being addressed at the Alternative World Water Forum in Marseille. This event is organized to demonstrate against privatisation schemes and the destructive impacts of dams which are promoted at the World Water Forum taking place at the same time in Marseille. The petition to UNESCO is presented at the Alternative World Water Forum.

The petition and the complete list of supporters can be found athttp://www.change.org/petitions/unesco-world-heritage-committee-save-world-heritage-on-the-tigris-river-in-mesopotamia

Contacts:

Heike Drillisch, CounterCurrent and Berne Declaration: +49 177 345 26 11, heike.drillisch@gegenstroemung.org

Ulrich Eichelmann, ECA-Watch: Tel. +43 676 662 15 12, ulrich.eichelmann@eca-watch.at

Further Information:

Press Release by the initiating organisations: http://www.gegenstroemung.org/drupal/sites/default/files/Ilisu_UNESCO_Petition_2012_PR_Initiators.pdf

Information on the Alternative Water Forum: http://www.fame2012.org/en/

Information on the International Day of Action against Dams and for Rivers: http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/6066

Background:

The petition is initiated by Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive (Turkey), ICSSI – Iraq Civil Society Solidarity Initiative, CDO – Civil Development Organisation (Iraq-Kurdistan Regional Governorate, KRG), CENESTA – The Centre for Sustainable Development (Iran).
The governments of Germany, Austria and Switzerland withdrew export credit guarantees for the Ilisu project in 2009. The Austrian company Andritz as well as the Swiss consultants Colenco, Stucky and Maggia nonetheless remained in the project and enabled the Turkish government to continue with the construction of the dam.

Planned Ilisu dam will inundate 12,000-year history including the ancient town of Hasankeyf

Press Release by Doga Dernegi – the Turkish Nature Association

26th January 2012, Istanbul, Turkey – Tourists today experienced the deprivation of enjoying one of Istanbul’s most iconic cultural and historical monuments as villagers from the historical town of Hasankeyf in the southeast of Turkey blocked the entrance of Topkapi Palace (1) to draw attention to the impending loss of their ancient town threatened by a major dam.

The protestors placed signs reading ‘No Entry’ and cordoned off the entrance to the palace holding images of historical sites from the Tigris Valley and Hasankeyf that date back   thousands of years. The villagers opened a banner reading ‘UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES TOPKAPI-HASANKEYF, CANNOT BE RELOCATED’.

“Our town Hasankeyf, together with the Tigris valley, will be inundated if the planned Ilisu dam goes ahead. The government closed down parts of the historical town in 2010 and the Minister in charge of the dam project, Veysel Eroglu, is claiming that they will move Hasankeyf to another location. Just as Topkapi Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, cannot be moved, Hasankeyf – which deserves the same title – cannot be moved to another location either,” said Ismail Kocyigit, a retired Imam from Hasankeyf.

Hasankeyf, with the surrounding Tigris Valley, is the only place in the world that meets nine out of 10 criteria for a UNESCO Wold Heritage Site according to a report published by Istanbul University Prof Zeynep Ahunbay, who is also president of ICOMOS Turkey (International Council on Monuments and Sites) (2). Yet the Turkish government refuses to include the region in the UNESCO list.

Engin Yilmaz, Executive Director of Doga Dernegi (Nature Association), joined the protest with volunteers from the conservation organisation. He said: “If the planned Ilisu Dam is built, it would be the second biggest dam in Turkey and cause the displacement of tens of thousands people (3), the extinction of many species in the Tigris Valley and it would destroy naturally important habitats and hundreds of historical sites that date back 12,000 years including the ancient town of year-old Hasankeyf.”

Since Hasankeyf was declared a “protected area” in 1981 the locals have been denied permission to carry out any needed restoration of their houses. At the same time the government has not invested in Hasankeyf since, leading to the area’s dilapidation.

In addition to drawing attention to the impending loss of an invaluable historical and cultural legacy, the protestors highlighted the tourism potential in the area and the economic benefits that could be gained if investment were made into preserving and promoting this heritage.

Hamdiye Öztekin who attended the protest with her husband and daughter from Hasankeyf drew a comparison with Cappadocia, which enjoys a number of similarities with the villagers’ hometown: “The world-renowned tourist destination of Cappadocia was declared a World Heritage Site in the 80s, and since then it generates over 600 million dollars a year (4) following investment made in the area. Yet, we are being denied the right to live in our hometown and enjoy the economic benefits possible through the tourism potential that Hasankeyf and Tigris Valley’s unique nature and history offers.”

Human settlements in Hasankeyf date back to prehistoric times. The notable artefacts include: The Castle that dates back to the 4th century, the bridge built in the 12th century which is the biggest stone bridge of the Middle Ages, and the Eyyubi Sultan Suleiman’s grave  located in the town.
The residents of Hasankeyf together with Doga Dernegi, called on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to revise its Ilisu Dam plans and include Hasankeyf and the Tigris Valley in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list.

Ends

For more information please contact,
Tuba Kilic
Doğa Derneği Hasankeyf campaign Coordinator
Mobile : +90 549 8010082
e-mail: yucel.sonmez@dogadernegi.org and dicle.tuba@gmail.com
www.dogadernegi.org

Notes:
(1)    Topkapi Palace became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
(2)    Prof Ahunbay’s report can be found at:
http://hasankeyf.dogadernegi.org/files/outstanding-universal-value-of-hasankeyf-and-the-tigris-valley2712.pdf
(3)    A report by World Bank expert Ayse Kudat puts the figure of people actually affected at 19,000-34,000, and the number of people potentially affected at 55,000-78,000. http://www.evb.ch/en/p25000556.html
(4)    Kayseri Cappadocia Tourism Cluster Final Report, ABIGEM, November 2009.

Photos:
Images 1,2 and 3: Hasankeyf villagers calling for the protection of their ancient town in south east Turkey which is threatened by the Ilısu dam, stand at Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace saying that just as such a Unesco World Heritage Site cannot be moved so their hometown which deserves the same title cannot be relocated. (Photos by IF Atolye)
Image 4: A retired Imam and a family from historical Hasankeyf demands the cancellation of Ilısu dam which threatens their hometown during a protest at Istanbul’s Topkapı Palace. (Photo by IF Atolye)

The report was submitted to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights yesterday, on the International Day of Action against Dams. The committee will consider at its next session in May 2011 the Turkish government’s compliance with its obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Covenant constitutes binding law and inter alia prohibits to deprive people of their livelihoods.
 
„For the first time the impacts of large dams are assessed from a strict human rights point of view“, states Heike Drillisch, author of the report and coordinator of CounterCurrent, the Ilisu Campaign in Germany. „As the Turkish government has ratified the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 2003, it is obliged to drastically change its dam policy.“
 
In their report the groups conclude that the Turkish government violates numerous rights covered by the Covenant, including those to food, water, housing and health. The study analyses Turkish legislation such the laws on expropriation and resettlement and some environmental laws as well as several cases including the Ilisu dam, for which the German, Austrian and Swiss governments had granted export cover from 2007 to 2009, dams in the Coruh and Munzur valleys as well as the Yortanli dam, which in February 2011 submerged the antique spa Allianoi, and the impacts of a small hydro-electric power plant in Southwestern Turkey. The report also gives special attention to the situation of nomads, whose culture is under great threat from the construction of dams, and the right to a healthy environment.
 
„The Turkish government plans the construction of approximately 2,000 dams and hydro-electric power plants in addition to existing 2,000 ones without any assessment of their cumulative impacts on the entire country“, states Engin Yilmaz, Director General of the Turkish nature organisation Doga Dernegi. „The implementation of these plans would not only cause environmental destruction on an unprecedented scale, but also massively violate of the rights of up to two million people.“
 
„All the dams that have been constructed to date show the same pattern: there is no meaningful participation of the affected population, compensation levels are not sufficient to restore livelihoods, and income restoration programs have not been created”, states Ercan Ayboga, international spokesperson of the Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive. „This constitutes a severe violation of Turkey’s obligations under the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and we hope that the Committee will make it unmistakably clear to the Turkish government that this is unacceptable.”
 
On occasion of the International Day of Action Against Dams and for Rivers, Water and Life actions took place all over the world to raise awareness of the severe impacts of dams on humans and the environment. In Turkey actions took place in Istanbul, Rize, Izmit, Antalya, Batman, Sirnak and Tunceli. In Spain, activists have alerted the shareholders attending the Annual General Meeting of BBVA, a major Spanish bank, to the fact that through its Turkish partner bank Garantibank BBVA is supporting the destructive Ilisu dam.
 
A link to the report  Dam construction in Turkey and its impact on economic, cultural and social rights can be found at the bottom for this page.
 
It was compiled by CounterCurrent in cooperation with
Çoruh Basin Environment Conservation Union
Doga Dernegi
Free Munzur Initiative
Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive
Platform for the Protection of Yuvarlakçay (YKP)
Yelda KULLAP, Lawyer, Member of the Allianoi Initiative Group
Pervin ÇOBAN, Member of the Association for Assistance and Solidarity with Sarıkeçili Yuruks
Bedrettin Kalın, Member of the Green Artvin Society
 
Information on the Committee on Econimic, Social and Cultural Rights: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/
Information on the International Day of Action Against Dams and for Rivers, Water and Life: http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/6163
 
Contacts:
Heike Drillisch (CounterCurrent – GegenStrömung): +49 – 177 – 345 2611, heike.drillisch@gegenstroemung.org
Engin Yilmaz (Doga Dernegi): +90 – 312 – 481 2545,
            engin.yilmaz@dogadernegi.org
Ercan Ayboga (Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive): +49 – 163 – 757 7847,
            e.ayboga@gmx.net
 

A press release by CounterCurrent, Doga Dernegi and the Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive

Potsdam, 15.3.2011 – A new report by organisations from Germany and Turkey reveals the huge extent to which Turkish dam policy violates human rights. The report was submitted to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights yesterday, on the International Day of Action against Dams. The committee will consider at its next session in May 2011 the Turkish government’s compliance with its obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Covenant constitutes binding law and inter alia prohibits to deprive people of their livelihoods.

„For the first time the impacts of large dams are assessed from a strict human rights point of view“, states Heike Drillisch, author of the report and coordinator of CounterCurrent, the Ilisu Campaign in Germany. „As the Turkish government has ratified the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 2003, it is obliged to drastically change its dam policy.“

In their report the groups conclude that the Turkish government violates numerous rights covered by the Covenant, including those to food, water, housing and health. The study analyses Turkish legislation such the laws on expropriation and resettlement and some environmental laws as well as several cases including the Ilisu dam, for which the German, Austrian and Swiss governments had granted export cover from 2007 to 2009, dams in the Coruh and Munzur valleys as well as the Yortanli dam, which in February 2011 submerged the antique spa Allianoi, and the impacts of a small hydro-electric power plant in Southwestern Turkey. The report also gives special attention to the situation of nomads, whose culture is under great threat from the construction of dams, and the right to a healthy environment.

„The Turkish government plans the construction of approximately 2,000 dams and hydro-electric power plants in addition to existing 2,000 ones without any assessment of their cumulative impacts on the entire country“, states Engin Yilmaz, Director General of the Turkish nature organisation Doga Dernegi. „The implementation of these plans would not only cause environmental destruction on an unprecedented scale, but also massively violate of the rights of up to two million people.“

„All the dams that have been constructed to date show the same pattern: there is no meaningful participation of the affected population, compensation levels are not sufficient to restore livelihoods, and income restoration programs have not been created”, states Ercan Ayboga, international spokesperson of the Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive. „This constitutes a severe violation of Turkey’s obligations under the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and we hope that the Committee will make it unmistakably clear to the Turkish government that this is unacceptable.”

On occasion of the International Day of Action Against Dams and for Rivers, Water and Life actions took place all over the world to raise awareness of the severe impacts of dams on humans and the environment. In Turkey actions took place in Istanbul, Rize, Izmit, Antalya, Batman, Sirnak and Tunceli. In Spain, activists have alerted the shareholders attending the Annual General Meeting of BBVA, a major Spanish bank, to the fact that through its Turkish partner bank Garantibank BBVA is supporting the destructive Ilisu dam.

The report Dam construction in Turkey and its impact on economic, cultural and social rights is available at:

It was compiled by CounterCurrent in cooperation with

Çoruh Basin Environment Conservation Union

Doga Dernegi

Free Munzur Initiative

Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive

Platform for the Protection of Yuvarlakçay (YKP)

Yelda KULLAP, Lawyer, Member of the Allianoi Initiative Group

Pervin ÇOBAN, Member of the Association for Assistance and Solidarity with Sarıkeçili Yuruks

Bedrettin Kalın, Member of the Green Artvin Society

Information on the Committee on Econimic, Social and Cultural Rights: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/

Information on the International Day of Action Against Dams and for Rivers, Water and Life: http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/6163

Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive
Batman/Turkey

PRESS RELEASE of the HASANKEYF SOLIDARITY CAMP

19.10.2010

We, individuals and organisations from different parts of the world and
Turkey, met in 11-17 October 2010 by the Tigris River for the Hasankeyf
Solidarity Camp to raise voice against the Ilısu Dam project which will
damage, if built, natural and cultural life. The construction of the
Ilısu Dam has been going on since spring 2010 despite all the counter
response of the local communities and other segments of society. We came
together to raise voice against the displacement of at least eighty
thousand people from their livelihoods and the destruction of  twelve
thousand years old cultural heritage in the name of some hydro-electric
power production.  We came together not only to protect Hasankeyf from
being a lost natural-cultural heritage such as Halfeti and Zeugma, and
from the destiny of Allianoi which is hidden under sands now, but also
to underline the need for a change in the existing water governance in
Turkey which creates such “destruction projects” in other parts of the
country such as Munzur, Hakkâri Cilo and the Black Sea region. We
thought together about it, discussed it from different perspectives,
learnt together and redefined the problems together.

We, the Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive, also aimed at drawing public
attention at national and international levels to the developments of
the last six months in Hasankeyf whose historical ruins are closed to
public visit due to rock fall and the construction of the Ilısu Dam
being carried out with national financial resources. We carried out
panels, civil disobedience actions, concerts, competitions, theatrical
performances and folk dance shows for the exchange of ideas and
experiences among actors of social movements against dams and
hydro-power plants from different parts of the world and various regions
in Turkey. Despite the weather and our limited resources, we believe
that we have reached our goals successfully.

We declare that there is an urgent need for a deep change in the
existing understanding of governance which does not take into account
nature and society; aims at converting livelihood resources into sole
economic ones; targets only economic profit; has no ethical bounds in
reaching its goals; steals the livelihood resources from future
generations and communities, whose very existence depends on the
protection of those livelihood resources, through creating despair or
deceiving as if these resources belonged to them; legitimizes such
social-ecological destruction under the guise of “progress and
development”; and accuses and punishes, in the most aggressive ways, any
response against this destruction. This understanding of progress and
development which has great social-ecological costs should be replaced
with a new governance approach that will be holistic and based on
keeping alive existing natural-cultural heritages. Unless we change this
paradigm which causes deterioration rather than progress and destruction
rather than development, Hasankeyf, Hakkâri-Cilo, Munzur, Allianoi, the
Loç Valley, the Palovit Valley, Yuvarlakçay, the Çoruh Basin and many
other cultural-natural heritages of Turkey will continue to be under the
threat of extinction. As this threat is pointed towards humans, other
living-beings, the past and the future, our struggle should embrace
universal values as well as the cultural diversity of local struggles.
For as much as, we can deal with the consequences of the global
development paradigm at national scale only through the embracement of
such universality.

Therefore, following our Hasankeyf Solidarity Camp, we all together
raise voice stronger:  Let live Hasankeyf; not the Ilısu Dam! Let live
Life; not destruction!

Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive
www.hasankeyfgirisimi.com